Thirteen students recently completed a Meredith College study abroad program in Ireland. The three-week program, which ran June 9-29, had an art focus.
Student participants were:
· Katelyn Atkins, rising junior, of Sanford, N.C.;
· Carol Boiter, rising junior, of Belmont, N.C.;
· Amanda Bridgeman, rising senior, of Tyner, N.C.;
· Katie Brown, rising sophomore, of King, N.C.;
· Rachael Hall, rising junior, of Pollocksville, N.C.;
· Suzanne Holloway, senior, of Durham, N.C.;
· Margaret Lally, rising junior, of Cary, N.C.;
· Amber McClure, rising junior, of Smithfield, N.C.;
· Emily McKenzie, rising junior, of Trinity, N.C.;
· Molly Metz, rising sophomore of Chapel Hill, N.C.;
· Alecia Overton, rising senior, of Asheboro, N.C.;
· Leslie Snyder, senior, of Raleigh, N.C.; and
· Mary Youngblood, rising junior, of Smithfield, N.C.
The program began in Dublin, where students were able to view many of the wonderful sites of the capital city including Trinity College, Abbey Theatre, the Irish Museum of Modern Art and Dublin Castle. The group then traveled to Waterford, Limerick, Galway and then to the remote Aran Islands, before heading north to Sligo and then on to Derry and Belfast in Northern Ireland. Prior to the trip, students completed an eight-week pre-trip course called Ireland: Its Arts and Histories. This interdisciplinary course introduced students to the historical and artistic traditions of Ireland. Students were required to choose a topic to research, write a research paper, and present the paper to the class with visuals.After returning from Ireland, each student is organizing a notebook containing a cultural reflections project. Participants will also create four exhibition-quality works inspired their Ireland experience. This work will be included in an exhibition at Meredith in September.
