Bluefield College
Friday, September 03, 2010

International Programs

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime. “
 Mark Twain/Innocents Abroad

 

 

 CAPA

INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION

 

Bluefield College is associated with CAPA (Centers for Academic Programs Abroad) as of the beginning of the 2009-10 academic year. “The CAPA mission has remained unchanged since 1972: to provide engaging learning abroad opportunities for American students where real inter-cultural learning occurs on a daily basis in a holistic educational environment” (CAPA brochure). Previous to 2009, Bluefield College was associated with International Enrichment (I.E.) of Naperville, Illinois. Mr. Jack Ricard, director of I.E., recommended to the Private College Consortium for International Studies (PCCIS) of which Bluefield College is a charter member, that we align ourselves with CAPA when I.E. ceased operations as of June 30, 2009.

 

CAPA has been cooperative in every way in explaining its philosophy of international education, in making its facilities and programs open to inspection, and to answering all questions well in relation to the important aspect of international studies for college-level students.

 

Further quoting from the CAPA manual: “Our programs centers are unique because they have been designed specifically to host short term, summer, and semester programs. Our classrooms, computers, offices, and staff are only available for CAPA programs and students. This ensures each program has the necessary resources and services to achieve a successful, safe, and productive experience abroad.”

 

The possibility of internship study is available in addition to classroom instruction. Internships are available at the following locations: London, UK; Florence, Italy; Sydney, Australia; Madrid, Spain; and Beijing, China.

 

Students of Bluefield College are eligible for study abroad opportunities through CAPA. There are, however, academic requirements that must be met prior to enrollment in a CAPA program. These requirements are set by PCCIS and are agreed to by all participating colleges/universities. All inquiries should be directed to Dr. Wayne Massey, International Programs Director @ (276) 326-4275 or wmassey@bluefield.edu

 

Detailed information on the CAPA programs can be found at the following url:

www.capa.org

 

Bluefield College students and their parents are urged to study the CAPA site. It is well done and should answer most questions.

 

Finally, Bluefield College encourages every student to look into an international experience during his/her four year college experience. The CAPA experience is a superb opportunity for our students to study abroad and to learn of other cultures. Check it out. It may be just the thing for you.

 

Wayne Massey, Ph.D.

Director of International Programs As part of its longstanding tradition of offering study trips abroad,

 

 

 

 

 
 
NEWS ARCHIVES

 

Ireland and Scotland Trip Planned for October 2009
 
     Bluefield College is well known for its study trips abroad. Students have traveled to London, Rome, and Athens in the past two years alone.
 
 
Dr. Wayne Massey, director of
BC's International Programs
     But, this fall the opportunity to tour and learn a foreign culture with Bluefield College will be offered to more than just BC students. Alumni and friends are invited to join the school for a nine-day trip to Ireland and Scotland.
     The trip, open to anyone -- students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community friends -- through BC's International Programs, will take place October 5-13, 2009, and will include tours of Dublin, Belfast, Glasgow, and Edinburgh.
     "We want as many of alumni and friends as possible to join us," said Dr. Wayne Massey, director of BC's International Programs. "The trips are fascinating from beginning to end. One thing I'm especially looking forward to doing this year is climbing Arthur's Seat in the heart of Edinburgh."
     In Ireland, the trip will include coach bus guided tours of the historic capital, St. Patrick's Cathedral, the River Liffey, Phoenix Park, Trinity College, Kilmainham Gaol (Prison), Temple Bar, and Grafton Street.
     The Ireland visit will also feature walking tours and excursions to places like St. Stephen's Green, Glendalough, Powerscourt Demesne, the Dublin Mountains, Belfast and the Hill of Tara, Donegall Square, and Belfast Castle. Free time for unstructured pleasure will also be available during the Ireland trip.
     In Scotland, the trip will include guided sightseeing of Edinburgh, New Town, Charlotte Square, Calton Hill, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh Castle, the Stone of Scone, and St. Margaret's Chapel.
     The Scotland tour will also feature walking tours and excursions to Glasgow, New Lanark, the Falls of Clyde, Stirling Castle, the William Wallace Monument, and the Royal Mile. Free time will be available in Ireland to enjoy unstructured visits to the Writers' Museum or Edinburgh's chic and eclectic shops.
     "This is an incredible opportunity for you to travel to places you may have dreamed about," said Dr. Massey, "and at the very best price possible for what you get."
     The group will depart from Roanoke (VA) Regional Airport on Monday, October 5 and return to Roanoke on Tuesday, October 13. For more information, including cost, visit BC's International Programs web site at bluefield.edu/upcomingtrips or e-mail Dr. Massey at wmassey@bluefield.edu.
 
   
 
Athens and Rome Trip Planned for November 2008
 
     Faculty, staff, alumni, and students, as well as members of the community, are invited to join Bluefield College in an exploration of the Vatican and a walk in the land of the Greek gods in November when the college sponsors a trip to Athens, Greece and Rome, Italy.
     The trip is designed for students in Bluefield College’s “History and Literature of Ancient Athens and Rome,” to be taught by Wendy Beavers, assistant professor
of history, and Dr. Wayne Massey, professor of English, in the fall of 2008. However, according to Dr. Massey, all students, faculty, staff, parents and even the public at-large are invited to participate in the educational journey.
     “This experience will prove to be a cultural and educational delight for all who are interested,” said Dr. Massey, director of the college’s International Programs. “The trip is related to the (Athens and Rome) class in that it will serve as a capstone for that class, but we hope that the entire campus community and the community at-large will participate, as well.”
     The trip is scheduled for November 18-26, 2008 and will feature an exploration of Rome's most monumental landmarks, an overnight ferry trip to Greece, a visit to Olympia, home of the first Olympic games, and a guided tour of the historical architecture of Athens.
     Dr. Massey said that while most students have probably studied such historically relevant places in school, he believes that the experience of an overseas trip is still of utmost importance.
 
 
BC student Keilah Ramey
on a study trip abroad in Wales.
     “Part of the college experience needs to be an international enrichment,” Dr. Massey said. “Part of it has to do with the fact that students study about places other than the U.S. An educated student has to do that. The Greek and Roman gods and religions and such can be studied in the classroom, but they can't be fully comprehended in class. The best understanding of history is found in historical places, within natural context.”
     Since 2000, Bluefield College has offered students the chance to participate in international trips abroad. While past trips sponsored by the college have been to various locations in England, Dr. Massey is glad to begin diversifying the offerings with trips like the one in fall 2008 to Athens and Rome.
     "I see the need for us to branch out considerably," he said. "I want to coordinate trips in the future with what Bluefield College professors are teaching and include professors of all disciplines in these international opportunities."
     BC senior Marcus Vaughn, who participated in the college's 2007 trip to London and Paris, says that students should take advantage of the international opportunities in order to see life from a new perspective.
     "I really enjoyed the agricultural change and the different historical factors of the foreign countries that we visited," Vaughn said. "I think that students should go on these trips just to experience something new and different than we have here."
     The Greece/Italy trip is being planned in conjunction with Education First Tours, a group that works with educational institutions to organize trips outside the United States. An EFT tour director will accompany travelers throughout their stay.
     The cost for students, faculty and staff to participate in the trip will be $2,293, while non-BC applicants will pay $2,628. Costs include everything, except lunch meals and discretionary expenses. Click here for more information:
 
Laura Kerr and Keilah Ramey Named Spring 2008 London Scholars
 
 
Bluefield College continues to offer its students an academic experience that reaches far beyond the walls of a college classroom to regions around the

Laura Kerr
world. Just ask BC junior Laura Kerr of North Tazewell, Virginia, and BC senior Keilah Ramey, of Luray, Virginia, who will be traveling to London, England, in the spring of 2008 as the college's most recent recipients of $8,000 study-abroad scholarships. "The foreign travel for study and enrichment is a significant part of the college's overall academic program," said Dr. Wayne Massey, director of BC's International Programs. "The study abroad opportunities include tours of London, plus trips to Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, and other European sites.  Students visit theaters, museums, art galleries, and many places of historical, literary, and general interest.  It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

For more than a decade, Bluefield College has awarded scholarships to students for educational enrichment opportunities by way of study abroad.

Keilah Ramey
 This spring, Kerr and Ramey will become the latest students to participate in the London Scholars Program.  The scholarship covers the cost of tuition, transportation, and room.  It is granted through Bluefield College as a member institution of the Private College Consortium for International Studies (PCCIS).  The program that Kerr and Ramey will participate in is directed by International Enrichment (I.E.), an organization based in Chicago, Illinois, specializing in study and enrichment opportunities for American college and university students abroad.  

Kerr and Ramey will do their studies on the campus of Imperial College, a branch of the University of London, located in central London.  Course offerings cover a wide academic range.  Each participating student is required to enroll in British Life and Culture, a course designed to familiarize American students with the rich heritage of the English people.  Specifically, Kerr will take the following courses additional to British Life and Culture:  The American Revolution in a Transatlantic Context, Shakespeare: Gender and Power, and Globalizsation in Historical Perspective.  Ramey's courses additional to British Life and Culture include:  Non-Western Religious Thought, Slavery and the Abolition Movement, and London: The City in History.   
 
Additional to regular studies, Kerr and Ramey will be afforded numerous travel opportunities both in and beyond the daily London experience.  They will take field trips for study to such places as Stonehenge, Bath, Stratford-upon-Avon, and Canterbury.  They will also do research at the British and London Museums as well as other places of educational and cultural interest within greater London itself. 
 
Kerr, a junior history major and English minor, is the daughter of Greg and Cheryl Kerr of North Tazewell, Virginia, and the granddaughter of Elsie Mae Tarter of Guthrie, Oklahoma, and Mary Kerr of Buffalo, New York.
 
Ramey, a senior interdisplinary studies major and history and Christian studies minor, is the daughter of Kenneth and Julie Ramey of Luray, Virginia.
 
Foreign travel for study and enrichment is a significant part of Bluefield College’s overall program.  Travel opportunities are available each year for both students and community.  Those interested should contact Dr. Wayne Massey, Director of International Programs at Bluefield College (326-4275).
 
 

Participants in the Richard Huish College student exchange are from back, left to right: Dr. Wayne Massey, Marissa Hayes, Cody Bentley, Chaka Meney, BC staff member Crystal White. Front row, left to right: Nicole Murray, Erin Jones, Jennifer Bailey, Santana Stevens, Lindsey Whitworth.
Foreign travel for study and enrichment is a significant part of Bluefield College’s overall program.  Travel opportunities are available each year for both students and community. 

Bluefield College and Richard Huish College (RHC) in Somerset, United Kingdom, are part of a Student Exchange Program, which began fall 2005, and will continue bi-annually thereafter. Eight of our students traveled to RHC for a week in late September.  The following Bluefield College students participated in this inaugural student-exchange: Jennifer Bailey, Cody Bentley, Marissa Hayes, Erin Jones, Chaka Meney, Nicole Murray, Santana Stevens, and Lindsey Whitworth. Here are some of their comments about the trip. 
 
In March 2006, nine Richard Huish College students and two faculty members visited Bluefield College.
Participants from Richard Huish College are from left to right: Jon Cross, Felix Williams, Steve Bird, Gemma Banham, Kim Pearce, Dawn Loxham, Tom Chapman, Marcus Barrett, Becky Hinchliffe, Jill Burton, and Hannah Toblin.
The following RHS students participated: Gemma Banham, Hannah Toblin, Dawn Loxham, Kim Pearce, Becky Hinchliffe, Felix Williams, Thomas Chapman, Jon Cross, Steve Bird, accompanied by faculty members Jill Burton and Marcus Barrett.

The Bluefield College London Scholars Program is just one of many confirmations of the quality of the academic experience at BC. Further proof of the school's academic excellence is its recent listing among the top 50 comprehensive colleges in the South in U.S. News and World Report's "America's Best Colleges" and the recent reaffirmation of accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

BC offers 18 majors of study, including business, teacher education, and criminal justice, and many of the school's classes are taught in the ten state-of-the-art SMART classrooms with high-tech presentation tools, projection devices, SMART Boards, computers, DVD and VHS players, and surround-sound audio systems.