UNCA Teaching Fellows Travel to Cambridge, England

UNC Asheville Teaching Fellows Amanda Bowman, Dennis Burns, Kelly Corriher, Elizabeth Duquette, Amy Quesinberry, Joshua Ray and Laura Robinson participated in a trip to Cambridge, England last month. The trip is part of the annual Teaching Fellows Junior Enrichment Activities.

The Cambridge Experience took students to Lucy Cavendish College for three weeks of study and cultural exchange, followed by a week of independent travel. Participants received UNCA credit in arts and humanities through classes that were tailored to the history and unique cultural resources of Cambridge. Using the museums, theatres, architecture, concerts and historic sites as a classroom, the students studied the cultural and intellectual history of Western civilization with an emphasis on Britain's role in the world community.

"Students were immersed in a completely new environment, which gave them the opportunity to learn not only about another culture and educational system, but also about themselves," said Jeffrey Konz, Cambridge Program Director and UNCA assistant economics professor. "To witness student growth and development unfolding before my eyes was extremely rewarding for me as a faculty member."

In addition to courses in arts and humanities, taught by Konz and Charles McKnight, a UNCA associate professor of music, students compared British and American educational systems through visits to local schools and talks with British teachers and headmasters.
Learning continued outside the classroom as the group toured Ely Cathedral, Holkham Hall, Lincoln Cathedral and Castle, the Tate Modern Museum, the British Museum and Granchester Orchard. The students also saw performances of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in London's Globe Theatre and Verdi's "MacBeth" at The Royal Opera House. 

After three weeks of formal classroom study and travel, students continued their travels independently. Some students remained in Great Britain to explore Scotland, Ireland or Wales, while others crossed the channel to visit Italy, France, Switzerland and Spain. 

Multicultural opportunities are offered to the UNCA Teaching Fellows in annual trips to national and international cities. Aside from Cambridge, England, other study abroad opportunities include a trip to Ghana. Each January, UNCA's Teaching Fellows also visit and tour American schools. Former visits have included New York, New Orleans, Savannah, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
The North Carolina Teaching Fellows Program is designed to attract high school seniors into the teaching field. Each year the program awards 400 North Carolina high school seniors a $26,000 scholarship for four years of undergraduate study. In return, students must teach four years in a North Carolina public school. UNCA is one of the 14 public and private North Carolina colleges and universities approved to participate in the Teaching Fellows Program.

For more information about UNCA's Teaching Fellows Program, call Brenda Hopper, Teaching Fellows Program director, at 828/251-6901.

Media Contacts:

• Brenda Hopper, UNCA Teaching Fellows Program Director, 828/251-6864
• Jill Yarnall, UNCA Public Information Assistant Director, 828/251-6526