C of I students set to study in Ireland
2011. 04. 29.
Two sophomores from The College of Idaho will have the opportunity to study abroad next fall thanks to C of I's participation in the Irish American Scholars program. Ashley Barr of Boise will attend fall semester at Queen's University Belfast, while Ellen Town of Eagle has been accepted at the University of Ulster Coleraine Campus in Northern Ireland.
Barr, a creative writing major and 2009 graduate of Centennial High School, will focus her studies on Irish literature and history. Queen's University Belfast is home to the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry.
“This is a great opportunity, and I feel quite honored to have been selected,” Barr said. “My family is originally from Ireland – on my mother's side we are very recent immigrants to the United States, and we are still very connected to our heritage. I'm especially interested in studying in Northern Ireland so that I can gain a different perspective on that heritage.”
Town, a biology major who attended Meridian Medical Arts Charter High School, will take liberal arts classes at Ulster, which does not have an extensive biology program. In place of medicine-related classes, Town hopes to volunteer and do some job shadowing at an Irish hospital.
“I would like to compare Ireland's health system to our own since I am interested in medicine,” Town said. “I am just so excited about this opportunity. I wanted to gain a completely different cultural experience. I love it here at the College, but I am looking forward to something new.”
The Irish American Scholars program is one of the major benefits C of I receives from its membership in the Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities. APCU also administers the Business Education Exchange program. As part of its long-term peacemaking efforts in Northern Ireland, APCU seeks to encourage student exchange with APCU member colleges by arranging for Irish students to attend C of I and also providing opportunities for C of I students to study at universities in Ireland.
Founded in 1891, The College of Idaho is the state's oldest private liberal arts college. It has a century-old tradition of educating some of the most accomplished graduates in Idaho, including six Rhodes Scholars, three Marshall Scholars, and another ten Truman and Goldwater Scholars. The College is located on a beautiful campus in Caldwell, Idaho. Its distinctive PEAK curriculum challenges students to attain competencies in the four knowledge peaks of the humanities, natural sciences, social sciences and a professional field, enabling them to graduate with an academic major and three minors in four years. For more information on The College of Idaho, visit www.collegeofidaho.edu.