2008 Woodie Awards
2008 Winter Term trips take learning out of the classroom
By: Anne Geiler
Issue date: 2/1/08 Section: News
Students taking advantage of off-campus Winter Term projects visited more than a dozen locations both in the United States and abroad this year, studying topics ranging from independent film to the culture of Ghana.
A first-time trip called Working in the Arts took 12 students to New York City to work in full-time art internships. Junior Becky Elliot interned at an art gallery, and hopes that the connections she made during her internship will be useful when she leaves DePauw.
"I expect to benefit a great deal from [those connections] after graduation," she said.
The internships were only a part of the trip: students also had the opportunity to see Broadway shows, watch dance performances and attend concerts. In addition, they listened to guest speakers from the New York Arts Community, including Broadway producer Beth Williams '85.
Twenty students traveled to Park City, Utah to study a different art form - film - at the Sundance Film Festival. Professor Peter Graham, one of two professors who led the trip, said students learned about aspects of the film industry, saw many films each and had some memorable star sightings along the way, such as Sarah Jessica Parker and Quentin Tarantino. Graham has led Winter Terms trips to Sundance several times before and said the experience is always exciting.
"We love going to Sundance, because here's all these wonderful independent films and most of them are world premieres," he said. "We had wonderful academically-packed lectures, but they were fun as well."
Another repeat trip took students to Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, NM, to participate in a service-learning program. They volunteered to clean fossils at the Paleontology Museum and worked as tutors and mentors at Abiquiu Elementary School.
Freshman Andrew Brubaker enjoyed learning about a different school system, as well as interacting with children.
"They were all so excited to have us working with them," he said.
One of many international Winter Term trips gave students the chance to study the cultural history of Istanbul, Turkey.
"We looked at the clash of the two civilizations, east and west, and how that affected the physical expression of culture in Istanbul," said senior Jen Davis.
For her, the most exciting part of the Istanbul trip was immersing herself in the subject - the experience Winter Term projects are all about.
"It was a lot more exciting to go out and do hands-on work instead of learning about it in a book," Davis said.
-Andy Bruner and Courtney Hime contributed to this article.
A first-time trip called Working in the Arts took 12 students to New York City to work in full-time art internships. Junior Becky Elliot interned at an art gallery, and hopes that the connections she made during her internship will be useful when she leaves DePauw.
"I expect to benefit a great deal from [those connections] after graduation," she said.
The internships were only a part of the trip: students also had the opportunity to see Broadway shows, watch dance performances and attend concerts. In addition, they listened to guest speakers from the New York Arts Community, including Broadway producer Beth Williams '85.
Twenty students traveled to Park City, Utah to study a different art form - film - at the Sundance Film Festival. Professor Peter Graham, one of two professors who led the trip, said students learned about aspects of the film industry, saw many films each and had some memorable star sightings along the way, such as Sarah Jessica Parker and Quentin Tarantino. Graham has led Winter Terms trips to Sundance several times before and said the experience is always exciting.
"We love going to Sundance, because here's all these wonderful independent films and most of them are world premieres," he said. "We had wonderful academically-packed lectures, but they were fun as well."
Another repeat trip took students to Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, NM, to participate in a service-learning program. They volunteered to clean fossils at the Paleontology Museum and worked as tutors and mentors at Abiquiu Elementary School.
Freshman Andrew Brubaker enjoyed learning about a different school system, as well as interacting with children.
"They were all so excited to have us working with them," he said.
One of many international Winter Term trips gave students the chance to study the cultural history of Istanbul, Turkey.
"We looked at the clash of the two civilizations, east and west, and how that affected the physical expression of culture in Istanbul," said senior Jen Davis.
For her, the most exciting part of the Istanbul trip was immersing herself in the subject - the experience Winter Term projects are all about.
"It was a lot more exciting to go out and do hands-on work instead of learning about it in a book," Davis said.
-Andy Bruner and Courtney Hime contributed to this article.
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