AMBER MATTICE
Managing Editor
It is no secret that Fredonia has a plethora of study abroad options that offer students the opportunity to learn and grow in various countries around the world. With at least one option on every continent, choosing where to go can be a harrowing process, as can the thought of spending an entire semester in another country.
But that is why the summer trip to Iceland, led by Professor Iclal Vanwesenbeeck, is a unique experience that should not be overlooked. The Iceland trip, referred to as “Magical Iceland” on Fredonia’s study abroad website, is a 3-credit course “designed to introduce students to the unique geology, culture and history of Iceland.”
Students, led by Vanwesenbeeck, travel to and around the island of Iceland for a couple of weeks. This year’s dates are not set quite yet but, in the past, have typically fallen between the end of May and the beginning of June. The tentative dates are May 20-31. The application deadline, according to the course’s study abroad page, is Dec. 8.
The point of the course is to immerse students
in another culture, to attend lectures and engage with the community of Iceland.
“I think for those of us who dedicate our lives to education, it is easy to understand that education is the only sustainable way for peace and peacemaking in the world,” said Vanwesenbeeck, who is currently abroad in Istanbul, Turkey. “The more you engage in rigorous study abroad or international education programs, the more you develop or grow as a citizen [and] as a person. . . . I care about this primarily because I think, in the long run, for generations to come, we will need a very sustainable way to ensure we are in peaceful relations with other people, with other cultures, with other countries and, to me, I can’t find any other answer but education.”
This year will see a new addition to the summer course due to a grant that Vanwesenbeeck received which will allow students that need civic engagement credits to acquire them through the trip. Vanwesenbeeck is integrating civic engagement attributes into the course this year, for the first time, so students will get even more out of the trip than in the past.
There is no set area of study that the trip focuses on but, rather, it encourages students to delve deeper into something that they are interested in and look at it through the view of another culture.
Photographers, biologists, artists and educators have all taken the trip in previous years and, because Iceland is such an isolated island, the rich and vast aspects of the land and culture offer something for everyone to look into.
“Students from all backgrounds and all disciplines are welcome. It is a course that appeals to all students from all different areas of interest,” said Vanwesenbeeck. “The island, even though it only has 350,000 people and a very limited number of species [that] inhabit the island, it is an incredibly rich place to observe, to perform some experiential learning and also to engage in dialogue [with the people that live there].”
Students are offered the chance to speak with scientists, members of the government and locals within the villages of Iceland throughout their trip. They are also given the chance to travel across the island and see the beauty that Iceland has to offer as well as the rich culture of Reykjavik, which is the capital city.
“My most vivid experience is definitely the glacier hike! Seeing first hand the effects of climate change on such a massive glacier is overwhelming, but having the opportunity to hike on one (crampons and all), is an experience I won’t forget,” said Virginia Croft, a Fredonia alumna that took the trip the summer after her junior year. “And, it may seem like an everyday part of the trip, but just simply driving around the long, beautiful roads of Iceland and chatting with the guides was very special to me.”
It is an incredibly rigorous course, academically, but also a rewarding one that offers new learning experiences that cannot be achieved within the standard classroom setting.
“If you are a student who is on the fence, all I can say is that you take the leap proudly. Don’t second guess yourself,” said Thomas Brennan, a Fredonia alumnus that took the trip after his senior year. “By the way, keep a journal and write your thoughts daily. You may have pictures, but years from now you’ll wonder what you were thinking on top of a glacier, inside Parliament or gazing at volcanoes in the Thorsmork valley.”
For students that are uncertain about taking the trip, Vanwesenbeeck is offering a course next semester: ENGL 399, Icelandic Film and Fiction. It will be offered from Jan. 23-March 8. It will offer students an opportunity to be introduced to the country before going on the trip but will also give all students the chance to explore the culture of Iceland further.
For any questions about the trip or the coure, email Vanwesenbeeck at Iclal.Vanwesenbeeck@fredonia.edu and also check out the study abroad office’s website for more deadlines, costs and applications.
If you are still having a hard time deciding whether or not to take the leap and apply, Vanwesenbeeck had one thing to say:
“Don’t think twice!”