April 05, 2011
Like many new college students, Daniella Tiranno ‘14C had hoped her
first semester would be an adventure. But she never dreamed she
would learn entirely new ways of looking at the world — in two of
the world’s greatest cities.
Daniella made her discoveries through the Freshman
Passport Program at St. John’s University. The unique program
allowed Daniella and 39 classmates to spend the last two weeks of
their Fall, 2010, semester at the University’s beautiful Rome, Italy,
Campus. The rest of the semester was at St. John’s 96.5-acre Queens, NY,
campus.
For their
first taste of studying abroad, the freshmen took a special section
of Discover
New York (DNY). The required class uses New York City as a
living textbook. As taught by
Heidi Upton, D.M.A., Assistant Professor of DNY, students
treated New York and Rome as springboards for comparing the old and
the new — and the layers of meaning within.
“Prof. Upton wanted us to see — to really see — the things that
we take for granted every day,” said the Smithtown, NY, native. “In
New York and Rome, we examined the sites that most people ignore.”
With classmate Katie Greibesland ‘14TCB, Daniella created a
video of their classmates’ experience in Rome.
“I developed the class with a very particular idea in mind,”
said Dr. Upton. “I wanted to get students to try to look at things
with new eyes. If you look at a park bench, sure, it’s a park
bench, but what else could it mean? What is the metaphorical sense
of an object or place?”
Launched in
2009, the Freshman Passport Program embodies St. John’s commitment
to global learning. Study abroad opportunities are available
throughout their undergraduate years. Through the
Office of Global Studies, students can enroll in Discover the
World, allowing them to live, learn and serve in three great cities
in a single semester. Students also may choose among winter, summer
and semester-long options throughout Europe, Asia and Latin
America.
Dr. Upton created a “wiki” site that served as a source of
information and dialogue for students. For the first segment, based
in New York, students wrote and created photo essays about the
people and sites they encountered on the city’s streets. Reflecting
St. John’s Vincentian focus
on compassion for those in need, Dr. Upton asked students to pay
particular attention to the plight of the homeless, the
often-ignored residents of the city’s streets.
During their final two weeks, in Rome, students toured historic
sites such as the Vatican, comparing the ancient and modern
architecture that exist side-by-side. Since service is an important
part of the course, students volunteered in a soup kitchen
sponsored by
Caritas, one of St. John’s strategic partners in Rome.
Dr. Upton encouraged students to take an artistic approach to
sharing their Rome experience. Through the interactive wiki site
Dr. Upton created, students contributed to a “Word Cloud” — a
cluster of word associations expressing their thoughts and feelings
about the Eternal City. The students also used a “voice thread,”
commenting on photos they post through audio files and “doodles”
they make directly on the images. For their final project, they
created a video about the experience.
“I didn’t want this to be like every other course,” said Dr.
Upton. “As a professional musician, I’m interested in a non-linear
approach to understanding the world. I wanted students to leave the
comfort zone of exams and text books.”
For Katie Greibesland, taking an artistic approach helped
students to better appreciate the wonders of Rome. “I loved it,”
she said. “We did so much walking, so much touring, my legs were
killing me when we got back to our rooms. We were immersed in the
city, in ways that I never expected. It was truly
life-changing.”
Through its Office of Global Studies, St. John’s makes studying
abroad an integral part of every student’s learning experience. We
invite you to learn more about
Global Studies offerings at St. John’s.