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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 15, 2001

   

(Article by Erica Fulton, Communications Specialist--SSU Office of Communications)

SSU Offers Activity Therapy Training

PORTSMOUTH, Ohio--Shawnee State University’s Office of University Outreach Services and Department of Business Administration are offering activity therapy training this fall quarter in response to requests from local long-term care facilities. 

            Basic Education Course for Activity Professionals (BUHE 210) and Activity Therapy Introductory Practicum (BUHE 211) will be taught during evening and weekend sessions by Ms. Kimberly Green, R.N., resident care director at Hempstead Manor. 

Activity directors are required by the federal government to complete training before they are certified to work in that capacity.  Ms. Green explained that the certification trains a person to conduct activities for resident nursing homes.

            “Activities would include things to help residents with daily life skills, social skills that for instance, help prevent those with dementia from declining, and to help residents continue activities that they like,” Green said.

            Courses are available for college credit and non-college/continuing education credit, but seating is limited.  All those interested must register with University Outreach Services by September 7, and those taking college credits must also register with the SSU Office of the Registrar. 

Fees for college credit are subject to normal in-state or out-of-state tuition and fees, while those taking the course for non-credit will need to pay $275 for BUHE 210 and $145 for BUHE 211. 

Contact the SSU Office of University Outreach Services for additional details at (740) 351-3274.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 7, 2001

 

SSU Board of Trustees
To Meet August 10

            The Shawnee State University Board of Trustees will meet Friday, August 10 at 1:15 p.m. in the Selby Board Room located in the Clark Memorial Library on the SSU campus.

            The committees of the Board will meet in the University Center at SSU as follows:

·        Quality of University Life—9:45 a.m. in the Howard Room;

·        Finance and Facilities—9:15 a.m. in the Ketter Room;

·        Academic Affairs—10 a.m. in the Founders’ Room.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 10, 2001

   

George Clayton, chair of the SSU Board of Trustees, shakes hands with Frank Waller of McDermott, whose nine-year term on the Board ended June 30. In addition to serving as a member of the Board, Waller served as past chair.

Jim Warren of New Boston takes the oath of office administered by Board Chair George Clayton as he officially becomes a member of the Shawnee State University Board of Trustees. Warren, who is mayor of New Boston, will serve a term that begins today and continues through June 30, 2010.

SSU student trustee Lindsey Liles of Sciotoville was presented a Shawnee State University chair for her service to the University. Her term on the Board ended June 30.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 7, 2001

 

(Article by Erica Fulton, Communications Specialist-SSU Office of Communications)

Holocaust survivor speaks to SSU community

PORTSMOUTH, Ohio—Each day Holocaust survivor Morris Dach spent in Auschwitz concentration camp he was told, “The world will never know what happened here,” but on Thursday, July 26, Dach met with Shawnee State University students and faculty to continue his efforts to assure that Nazi soldiers were wrong.  

Mr. Dach, an exuberant man whose appearance only slightly hints to his age or traumatic experiences, stood in front of a packed room in SSU’s Advanced Technology Center to deliver his story of surviving the concentration camps at Auschwitz and Birkenau and prisoner coal mine at Janinagrube.   

 “The one reason I’m here is to tell the truth,” Dach says.  He wants to stand up to those who would assert that the Holocaust did not happen.  The Columbus businessman has been speaking in front of the weeklong workshop provided collaboratively by Shawnee State University, the Holocaust Foundation, and Portsmouth’s B’Nai Abraham Temple in conjunction with Kent State University and the Ohio Council on Holocaust Education (OCHE) for almost 12 years.  According to the OCHE, “ ‘Teaching the Holocaust: A One-Week Workshop’ aims to provide teachers of social studies, English, history, and related subjects with greater insight into the Holocaust and genocide.” 

OCHE Executive Director Dr. David Brenner explains, “We are teaching teachers how to teach about the Holocaust.”  He hopes that if nothing else, those who attend the workshops learn “the necessity of preventing future genocides and the necessity of confronting events that bear comparison.”

Dach, an eyewitness to the horror of genocide, shares his account of survival during the Final Solution in hopes that others will learn to love and not hate.  Dach was only a teen when his family was sent to live in a ghetto, a part of the city Jews were forced to live in under German surveillance.  Even then, Dach resisted what he was told and credits his survival to his refusal to follow the rules.  “I was a rebel.  I think that is why I survived,” he says with a spirit that comes through in his voice and gestures.

Rebelling against Nazi forces was almost assured death, but Dach managed to avoid being caught.  Each day he would venture out of the ghetto to bring back food to his family.  If he were caught, he would have been hanged publicly as a warning to others.  But, Dach refused to let his family suffer.  He explains, “My parents did not go hungry.  I took care of that.” 

Tragically, Dach’s parents were some of the first from his hometown, Plonsk, Poland, to be executed by the Nazis.  They were taken away by train and he never saw them again.  Later, another survivor told him that his parents had been taken to Auschwitz before the crematories had been built.  The Germans tried to gas them with fumes, but they survived so they were doused with gasoline and burned alive. 

“Till this day, I couldn’t understand the German mentality,” says Dach about the brutality of the Nazis.

Dach was one of the last Jews to be taken from the ghetto.  In 1941 he was transported to Auschwitz, a notorious concentration and death camp.  Upon arrival his hair was shaved and a number was tattooed on his arm, a mark he still bears.

“At that moment on I lost my identity as a man and went by a number,” he says.  It was then that he came face to face with atrocities that according to Dach, “Nobody should see what we saw.”  Men were castrated after being tied down; babies were ripped from their mother’s arms and bashed against walls; death was all around them.  Every day those who could not work were murdered.  “You could not get sick or you were dead,” Dach says.  Those who went to the hospital never came back.  He explains that you had to get out and work to survive. 

He endured the winter by staying indoors to learn to become a bricklayer.  He found that they didn’t punish people for failing courses, so he failed a few times to stay inside.  When spring came he decided to start working.  He could go out and barter with civilians who worked at the camps for items he would use to bribe guards for extra bread.

Eventually Dach was sent to Janinagrube to mine for coal, but when the Germans began losing the war, he was sent back to Auschwitz.  As the Russians approached the death camp, the Nazis constantly told the Jews they would not make it out alive.  Instead of gassing all the prisoners, they sent them out on a death march.  Dach knew he had to escape.  He and two other prisoners broke from the line and made it into the forest amongst a spray of gunfire.

With no food or shelter, Dach took another chance and approached a farmer for help.  He was allowed to take bread and shelter in the barn.  Dach remembers sleeping among the goats; “it was heavenly.”  But, when the farmer became frightened that the Germans would discover him, he pushed the escapees out with false warnings that the Germans were looking for them.  Dach and the other men fled to a nearby farm and overpowered the family.  They kept the German family captive for three weeks until the Russian army liberated them. 

Dach tried to live in Europe but found it was still hostile to Jews.  He set out for the United States, where he met his wife of 51 years.  Mr. Dach has since retired a successful businessman in the restaurant equipment industry.  He continues to speak about his experience, but as he says, “a lot of survivors try to live in the past, I don’t do that.”  He says that is why he is able to talk to people about the truth of what happened just 60 years ago. 

For the Shawnee State University community, the truth is now impossible to forget.  Books and movies can educate, but Morris Dach’s account imprints the realness of what happened in the not so distant past. 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 29, 2001

   

SSU/MU To Offer Environmental Science and Safety Technology Master's Degrees in Portsmouth

            The Shawnee State University Graduate Center and Marshall University will offer master's degrees in environmental science and safety technology on the SSU campus this fall.

            An informational meeting with registration information will be held on Tuesday, September 4 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. in Room 134 of the Advanced Technology Center located on the SSU campus in Portsmouth.

            The first class, "Environmental Law," is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, October 2, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

            For more information, contact the SSU Graduate Center at (740) 351-3177 or via e-mail at graduate_center@shawnee.edu.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 15, 2001

   

SSU Earns AATP
Designation For MCSE Program

Shawnee State University has been named an official Authorized Academic Training Provider (AATP) making it possible for the University to offer the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) training program.  This series of courses will help interested residents in the area prepare to pass the certification tests required to become a certified systems engineer. 

Cristy D. Boggs, coordinator of computer enrichment training in the Office of University Outreach Services at SSU, said the MCSE credential is one of the most widely recognized and demanded technical certifications in the IT industry.

“Those earning the valued MCSE credential are demonstrating that they have the skills necessary to lead organizations in the successful design, implementation, and administration of the most advanced Microsoft Windows platform and Microsoft server products,” she said.  “It is also very rare for a provider to be located in southern Ohio.  There are only a handful in this region.”

The MCSE certification-training program consists of a series of four to five week class modules with a pre-test intensive training session following the final class. 

Mark A. Yarnell, network systems engineer at SSU, is instructor for the classes.  Yarnell is certified as a MCSE, MCT, MCP+I, and CCNA.

Boggs said that if an individual can complete the training within a year, his or her marketability increases greatly.

“We are limited to 12 spots per class and they fill up fairly quickly.  I receive one or two calls per day from people who have degrees but want to open up the job market for themselves through this training,” she said.

According to Boggs, individuals who have the MCSE certification can start out making $40,000-$50,000 per year, and trainers make between $50-$100 per hour.

“If you want to pick the location in the world in which you have always wanted to live, you will find work there with this certification,” she said.  “Nearly all schools, libraries, phone and cable companies, and most businesses have network systems on which they need systems engineers to work.”

To receive registration information or answers to questions about this important training opportunity, call Boggs at (740) 351-3178, or contact her via e-mail at boggsc@shawnee.edu.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 15, 20 01

   

Graduates from SSU Occupational Therapy Programs
Changing Lives in Community

SSU OT students Suzanne Brumfield (being seated) and Tiffani Preston demonstrate the proper technique of a wheelchair transfer.

 

 

SSU OT instructor Melinda Sissell works with OT student Jennifer Sommer and her daughter on balancing with a bolster.

 

            Debra Scurlock, director of the Department of Occupational Therapy at Shawnee State University (SSU) and former director of occupational therapy at Southern Ohio Medical Center (SOMC), sees a solid connection between the occupational therapy programs at SSU and SOMC, and says more and more individuals are realizing the many benefits of entering the field of occupational therapy.

            “It is a partnership.  When I was at SOMC, we took on SSU students and ended up hiring many of them.  And by creating this liaison with Shawnee State and having their students with us, we were able to build our programs’ motif—in particular the home health, industrial rehab, inpatient rehab, and the neurological arenas,” she said. 

            Occupational therapy is a vital health care service that uses “occupation,” meaning purposeful activity, as the basis for treatment of people with a wide variety of physical, developmental, and emotional disabilities.

            Scurlock said that occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants help disabled people of all ages acquire or regain the skills they need to live independent, productive, and satisfying lives.

            “Our students and graduates work in hospitals, rehabilitation centers, nursing homes, public and private schools, and home health agencies,” she said.

Occupational therapy assistants work under the guidance of occupational therapists.  They may choose or construct equipment that helps people to function more independently; they may carry out treatment activities for individuals or groups of patients; and they work closely with families of patients who are preparing to return home.

SOMC, according to Scurlock, has always had occupational therapy programs all over the community. 

“This is because Shawnee State University produces such good individuals at the assistant level.  Then when the University started producing graduates at the baccalaureate level, that gave us another way to continue to develop and promote OT services in the community,” she said.

Nearly all of the OTA’s that Scurlock hired in her role at SOMC were from SSU’s program.  She credits the University’s production of OT’s with the better services that are available in the community, including rehabilitation and occupation.  

“When you look at the industrial program and the types of work OT’s do with industry and injured workers, in putting them back to work, Shawnee State University graduates are there, and they are working in the school systems, hospitals, nursing homes, and homeless shelters,” she said.

SSU OT students are doing fieldwork all over the country, including Charleston, WV; Parkersburg, WV; Chillicothe; Columbus; Gallipolis; Wheeling, WV; Lexington, KY; Houston, TX; Birmingham, AL; Webster, TX; Chicago; Cincinnati; Charleston, SC; and Washington, D.C.  Students in the SSU OT program will do field work for six months, while OTA students do field work for three months.

“We have them all over the place.  It’s been great because it broadens their knowledge.  They take their knowledge base from SSU which we think is very developed in OT and take it to these other clinics, hospitals, and facilities.  In addition, we have a very good passing rate on our national board exams.”

            For the past several years, the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy has sent notification to SSU that the students in the OT and OTA programs at the University have had a 100 percent passing rate on the certification examination.  SSU students’ average score has been well above the national average for both the occupational therapy registered (four-year program) and the certified occupational therapy assistant (two year program) examinations.

            “Such scores represent exceptional performance from our students and demonstrate the quality of SSU’s occupational therapy students against the national standard,” said Dr. Michael Field, interim president at SSU.

There are a lot of new emerging practices in OT, according to Scurlock.

“Working in homeless shelters, like our students do, allows for work in wellness-based areas, in trying to help people figure out lifestyles.  It’s such a holistic view of healthy life, whether it’s from a rehab standpoint, helping workers go back to work, or helping homeless people try to establish their lives again,” she said.

To further illustrate its connection to the community, SSU OT/OTA students recently helped out with a project with the Red Cross called Safe City—a program that emphasizes safety in the local community.

            To become an occupational therapy assistant, an educational program must be completed.  The majority of these are two-year associate degree programs like the one offered at SSU.  Studies include basic academic subjects, human growth and development, the functioning of the human body, and occupational therapy principles and techniques.  The OTA program requires two, eight-week rotations of supervised practical experience in a variety of health care settings.

          Individuals who are interested in becoming an occupational therapist must complete an educational program in occupational therapy at either the baccalaureate or graduate level.  The program at SSU leads to a bachelor of science degree with a concentration in occupational therapy.  Studies include basic academic courses in the sciences and liberal arts as well as occupational therapy theoretical constructs and practices.  The occupational therapy program requires six to nine months of full-time internships in a variety of health care settings.

            Both the OT and OTA programs at SSU are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA).

National data shows that the starting yearly salary for occupational therapists is $42,000 while occupational therapist assistants start out making $32,000. 

“Not only do our graduates start out making good money, they advance in their fields fairly quickly,” Scurlock said.

Pointing out the holistic impact occupational therapists and assistants have on society, Scurlock said that if a person is the entrepreneurial type, a self-motivator or self-starter, he or she could start his or her own business in the field. 

“With the background that you get in OT, there are so many things that you can do.  There is a great skill level and knowledge base that will open up many doors, for instance, in geriatric centers (adult daily living).  SSU students and graduates work in such facilities.”

Scurlock added that It has been a great experience to see both sides of the coin—to help SSU promote the SOMC program and SOMC promote the SSU program. 

“I’ve done both.  And if you want to get a great job and have connections with hospitals all over the U.S., the SSU OT/OTA programs are for you,” she said.

For more information about the occupational therapy programs at Shawnee State University, call the department at (740) 351-3225, or call the SSU Office of Admission at (740) 351-4SSU (4778) or (800) 959-2SSU (2778).

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 15, 20 01

   

SSU’s Clark Planetarium
Features Interactive Game Show

            Stars.  Galaxies.  Roller coasters.  Game shows.  Entertainment seekers can find all of these things in one room at Shawnee State University’s Clark Planetarium.

            Operating with the Digistar system, one of only 50 in the world, SSU’s planetarium offers a change from the usual movie and popcorn.  The current show, More Than Meets the Eye, explores galaxies, nebula, and exploding stars, while adding some virtual fun with roller coasters and the interactive game show, Who Wants To Be an Astronomer?                 

“I’m going to do all seven of the roller coasters,” promises David Atkins, interim director of the planetarium.

            The next show is scheduled for August 18 at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.  Admission is $2 per person.  The Clark Planetarium is located in the Advanced Technology Center on the SSU campus in Portsmouth.  For more information call (740) 351-3125.   

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 7, 2001

   

Courses Leading to Career
In Real Estate Offered At SSU

PORTSMOUTH, Ohio—Have you ever considered getting your license to sell real estate?  If so, Shawnee State University is offering a series of four classes to work toward licensing requirements this fall.

          Ginnie Moore, director of University Outreach Services, explains that selling real estate is, first and foremost, a customer service business. 

“Buying or selling a home is one of the largest transactions most people make in their lifetime, and in many cases, you are making someone’s dream come true.” 

While SSU does not offer a degree program in real estate, the University is offering courses designed to prepare students for a career in real estate, meet licensing requirements, and prep for the licensing exam. 

        Classes will be offered in two sessions from September 17 to November 28 from 6 p.m. to 9:50 p.m. Monday through Thursday at SSU.  Those interested can choose to take the classes for college credit or non-credit, but all must register with University Outreach Services by August 27.  Students interested in college credit need to also register at the Office of the Registrar.  Those taking college credit are responsible for the appropriate in-state or out-of-state fees and tuition, while non-credit fees are $175 per course or $600 for all four.

            Courses include Real Estate Principles and Practices as well as Real Estate Law, which will be offered September 17 through October 19.   Real Estate Finance and Real Estate Appraisal will be offered October 22 through November 28.  For more information contact the SSU Office of University Outreach Services at (740) 351-3281.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 3, 2001

Master's Degree From University Of Rio Grande 
To Be Offered at Shawnee State University

The Shawnee State University Graduate Center will offer a Master of Education Degree in Intervention Specialist: Mild/Moderate from the University of Rio Grande on the Shawnee State University campus in Portsmouth, Ohio, beginning August 29. 

Dr. Margaret A. Christensen, director of the SSU Graduate Center, says the program will be offered during evening hours so that students may complete this advanced degree without interrupting their teaching schedules, or giving up their weekends. 

"In addition, these courses will be offered in conjunction with Shawnee State's undergraduate licensure programs for Intervention Specialist," she said.  "Several of the master's level courses are offered on the Internet during the fall and spring semesters. All other courses will be offered on the Shawnee State University campus."

The program is based on Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligence, and current brain research.  Course instructors offer research-based instruction that will enhance the student's current teaching practice.  According to Christensen, the Master of Education Degree in Intervention Specialist: Mild/Moderate is designed for K-12 teachers who desire to gain knowledge and a broad strategy base for teaching students who have mild to moderate disabilities. 

"These students include those identified with learning disabilities, mental retardation, emotional disabilities, or physical disabilities, but exclude students identified with visual or hearing disabilities," she said.  The graduate degree may lead to a license in Intervention Specialist: Mild/Moderate after passing the Praxis II exam, and successfully completing student teaching, which may be done in the teacher's own classroom.  Shawnee State's undergraduate degree also qualifies the student for a mild/moderate intervention specialist license. 

"These programs are the ideal way to convert a temporary special education certificate to the appropriate teaching license," Christensen said.  The Ohio Board of Education and the Ohio Board of Regents have approved the University of Rio Grande's master's program in Intervention Specialist:  Mild/Moderate, and the University of Rio Grande is fully accredited by the North Central Association.

There will be an informational meeting on the Shawnee State University campus on August 6, from 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. in the Advanced Technology Center, Room 134, for all individuals interested in the Intervention Specialist: Mild/Moderate master's degree program to be taught on the Shawnee State University campus.  If you have additional questions, contact the SSU Graduate Center at (740) 351-3177 or via email at  mchristensen@shawnee.edu <mailto:mchristensen@shawnee.edu>.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 15, 2001

   

SSU Student Devotes Herself to Saving Animals  

Shawnee State University student Janine Hansing has taken in 31 dogs 
and cats from the Scioto County Humane Society that recently closed. To adopt a pet, 
call (740) 858-6017.

 

PORTSMOUTH, Ohio-How many people would rescue one homeless animal from the pound or humane society? Two…three…four?  How about 31 like Shawnee State University student Janine Hansing?

The 19-year-old biology major has single-handedly rescued 60 to 70 animals that otherwise would have be euthanasized.  Most recently she took in all the animals from the Scioto County Humane Society when it closed so they weren’t put down.  Added with the animals she has saved from the pound, Hansing now has 24 dogs and 7 cats that need good homes.  Although Hansing would love to keep all of them, she realizes that her home is just a temporary place for them. 

“I want to get them into a good home because they obviously weren’t in a good home before,” she said. 

Right now, the slew of dogs and handful of cats make their home in the Hansing family’s 40-acre farm, but Janine worries that they don’t get enough attention.  She admits that she is closer to her own pets and wants the rescued dogs to have that kind of attention.

“I want them to go to a home where someone thinks they’re the best dog,” Hansing said.  Of course, the dogs have a large fenced-in area to run around in and can even cool off in the kiddy pool she has set up for them, while the cats hide away in the barn.

Hansing, who plans to become a veterinarian, moved to Portsmouth two years ago from Columbus with her father.  When one of her dogs was hit on the road, she went to the pound and rescued two dogs. 

“When I saw all those dogs in the pound I cried.  I wanted to take them all home with me,” she said.  After she found homes for those two dogs, she went back and rescued two more and has kept it up ever since.  Hansing pays to have the animals spade or neutered, administers all the vaccinations herself except for rabies, which is done by a licensed vet, gives them heart worm prevention, and treats them for mange or any other condition they have. 

Hansing says she has learned a lot from all the work she has done with the animals, which has been good practice for her future career.  However, in order for her to continue, she has to have help from the community. 

“I’ve spent my entire life savings and I’ve run out of money,” she explained.  “My dad has been nice enough to lend me money, but he is hoping that I can get the city to help more with donations or stop doing this.”

Hansing is selective in placing the animals.  She won’t adopt the dogs to anyone who is going to keep them tied up or won’t give them the care they deserve.  She prefers homes where the dogs will be mostly inside or where there is a fenced-in yard.  She wants people who are looking for a companion pet.  Many of the dogs she rescues have been neglected or mistreated and need a home that is going to provide them with a happy and healthy life.

For Hansing, who attends SSU full-time and normally works a part-time job, caring for such a large number of animals is getting to be too much.

“Ideally it would be nice to have my dogs and two rescued ones at a time so I can work with them more,” she explained.

Currently, Hansing has one full-breed Newfoundland, a black lab, some blue tick/rottweiler mixed breeds, border collies, hounds, and other mixed breeds that are available for adoption. 

“I like to get the mutts.  I think they’re better dogs,” she added jokingly.

The animal enthusiast names every dog and calls out all 24 of them with little hesitation-an impressive feat considering she has saved 60-70 animals in the last two years.

Hansing says she has no problem adopting the animals for free, but prefers if a donation can be given so that she can continue to help other animals. Hansing added that those who can’t adopt still could help by making donations of dog food, trashcans to keep the food in, kitty litter, and medical supplies.  Those who are interested in adopting or donating can call (740) 858-6017. 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 22, 2001

   

The Upward Bound Math Science Center at Shawnee State University held its end of summer banquet recently.  Students were presented awards for their participation in the six-week program.  Housed at Shawnee State University and funded by the U.S. Department of Education, the Center is designed to provide students in Appalachian Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia with an exciting learning experience in the math and science fields.  It provides academic, social, recreational, cultural, and counseling services in order to generate skills, motivation, and self-confidence necessary for students to succeed in a university math or science program.  Pictured (L-R) are Ryan McCall, director; Jenna Brimstein; Kendra Frazier; Brittany Huron; Jessica Daulton; Megan Stiverson, RA; Elizabeth Wilson; and Garrett Keller.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 3, 2001

 

The SSU Spanish group visits the rain forest in Canaima, Venezuela.  Pictured left to right (front) Shelby Preston, Angela Dengle, Julia Coll, Amanda Flavin, Erica Fulton (back) Patrick Preston, Kevin Mitchell, Eric Fields, and Brian Mitchell in front of Sapo Falls.

SSU Students Experience Life in Venezuela

            PORTSMOUTH, Ohio--Shawnee State University (SSU) professor of Spanish Dr. Julia Coll recently took a group of eight SSU students to Venezuela for a week-long intensive course focusing on Spanish language, culture, and ecotourism.  The group spent time in the capital of Venezuela, Caracas, as well as Margarita Island and Canaima during the second week of July. 

Coll, who is originally from Venezuela, explained, "Although we [SSU] do not have a foreign language requirement, we have the incentive of travel to study the language.  If students know they might have that opportunity, they would be more inclined to learn. 

"Coll explained that after one year students have the basic tools to travel to a Spanish-speaking location.  Venezuela was actually a special choice for Coll, who had to arrange the tour herself because there are no educational package tours to the country. 

"I always wanted to share my country with students," Coll said.  "In such a small territory you find all different geographic areas." 

While in Venezuela, Coll and Eric Fields, Amanda Flavin, Erica Fulton, Brian Mitchell, Kevin Mitchell, Patrick Preston, and Shelby Preston, all students at SSU, as well as Angela Dengle, an adjunct Spanish professor at SSU, visited a mixture of sites that allowed them to experience the variety of the country.  The majority of their trip was spent at Margarita Island at La Posada de Aleja, a student-run hotel created by La Universidad de Oriente.  Located in a fisherman village the hotel assists students from the local university who are studying hotel and tourist management in getting hands-on experience in their field.  La posada allowed the SSU students to interact with native speakers more so than in most educational tours, where contact with Spanish-speakers is usually limited to the tour guide.  SSU students were able to meet with students from La Universidad de Orienteduring one night, which afforded them the opportunity to learn about the Venezuelan culture. 

Eric Fields recalled, "The first night our group spoke as much Spanish as we could at the time and asked all the questions that were possible about their school, life, and Venezuela that we could get across." 

Kevin Mitchell said he met a student from the university and found out that they had very much in common.

"We were about the same age, both in college, and we enjoyed the same leisure activities.  That night we finished up practicing our Spanish and I really wanted to fit into the Venezuelan culture," Mitchell said.

As part of the ecotourism aspect of the course, a movement to allow tourism to natural habitats without damaging the environment, students also visited La Restinga, a natural habitat for oysters.  On a very special excursion, the group chartered a plane and traveled into the rain forest to Canaima.  They flew over Angel Falls, a natural wonder of the world, and hiked into the forest and under a waterfall. 

Patrick Preston recalled, "One by one in single file we all made our way under the falls, a raging river going over our head.... It was an experience of a lifetime, my best memory of the entire trip."

Coll hopes by offering more travel opportunities to students, they will see the importance of visiting other places. 

Amanda Flavin said there is something about being in a foreign country that does something to a person. 

"It is almost like no matter what you do...the country becomes part of you and ...you are a different person when you leave," Flavin said. 

Coll hopes to offer other such enriching travel opportunities to students next summer quarter when she plans to return to Venezuela and also visit Spain.  She encourages students who are interested in the trips to begin studying the language this fall quarter at SSU.  Contact the Shawnee State University Office of Admission for details at 1-800-959-2SSU (2778).   

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