AIC begins study abroad program in Ireland
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SPRINGFIELD-Students at American International College will get a chance to experience life on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean as AIC begins its Study Abroad program on the Dingle Peninsula of Ireland. The college held a send-off luncheon for the first group on Tuesday, January 8 at noon in Adams Hall.
Michael Russell, Kyle Rowe, Casey Davidson and Mathew Wisniewski will spend the semester traveling throughout Ireland as part of the program. Galway, Dublin, Limerick and Belfast are on the itinerary, and the students will also make a trip to Brussels, Belgium as part of their study of the European Union
Roland Holstead, vice president of institutional enterprise at AIC helped set up the new program."We’re very excited about it," he said. "We want to expand our regional, national, and international reputation as being a college of opportunity."
Holstead said this study-abroad opportunity is unique because it forges a connection between Western Mass. and a place with which some residents are familiar; many trace their roots back to the peninsula, located in the west of County Kerry.
"Irish descended from the region are very prevalent in the area," he said. "I've read that more than 6,000 came to this area after World War II."
Building on that existing connection between Dingle and Springfield, students accepted into the program will complete three courses during their stay examining the social structures and cultural aspects of Ireland, and the politics and economics of the European Union.
Holstead said plan are in the works for a second program which will take its cue from the heritage of many Springfield residents of Italian descent. Beginning in September of next year, AIC will launch a semester-long program in Salerno, Italy, similar to that taking place on the Dingle Peninsula.
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