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Global Initiatives

April 14, 2020
Students in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin

During the fall, students participated in international term-long programs in Japan and the United Kingdom. Here is what Catherine, who traveled to Stratford to study literature, history, and theater with five of her peers and English instructor Erica Lazure, had to say about her experience: "Perhaps the experience that I hold dearest was the opportunity to work with Dr. Haughton, an Art History teacher from an all-girls school in Wales.

Not only was it interesting to have a teacher from outside of Exeter, but I also truly found her class life-changing. Exeter does not offer art history, and because of that, I had never studied the subject or frankly given much thought to it. But I quickly discovered my passion for the subject within our first few meetings. I had already planned to major in history in college, but this opened my eyes to another side of the subject that I hadn’t considered."

Life-changing opportunities supported by gifts to The Exeter Fund's Global Initiatives designation shape our students, like Catherine, as individuals and as global citizens. Read on to learn about some of the adventures that Exonians are embarking on in 2023!

Exeter’s Global Initiatives programs offer students a diverse array of opportunities around the world, each with a focus on experiential immersion. Donations to The Exeter Fund helped approximately 350 students and faculty to open their minds to new ways of thinking and living this school year through more than 40 travel and learning opportunities.

Business and Entrepreneurship

Singapore

This June, eight to ten Exeter students will travel to Singapore, the business and entrepreneurial hub of southeastern Asia. Over the course of three weeks, they will learn to leverage their business skills to create sustainable solutions to regional challenges. During the first half of the program, students learn how to develop and pitch a business. Accelerated, interactive lessons give students a detailed understanding of the Lean Startup methodology, including the financial and research skills required to get a viable business off the ground.

During the second half of the program, students will use the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals as a framework for discussing various challenges facing Singapore. Classes on entrepreneurship best practices, the ethics around creating sustainable business practices that are scalable, and design thinking prepare them to observe and learn from local business leaders. After they discover how local businesses operate, students will be presented with a business problem which they will research and develop a solution for in teams.

 

Sustainability and Service Learning

East Charleston, VT

Eight to fourteen Exonians will spend time in East Charleston, VT, this summer, where they will experience a place of close-knit communities living in harmony with the land. This nine-day service learning expedition will use the historical sporting camp, Quimby Country Cottages, as a hub for experiences and conversations centering upon environmental stewardship.

Students will engage with a variety of individuals, organizations, and community projects related to land management, sustainability, climate change, and environmental justice.

The group will meet with Abenaki elder and Chair of the State Commission of Native American Affairs, Carol Irons, to learn about the indigenous perspective in Vermont; plant a garden with Vermont Farm to School – a network of sustainability advocates, practitioners, and educators – and discuss sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, and community resilience; and paddle the Connecticut River with the CT River Conservancy to plant bank-stabilizing silver maples.

"Exonians are fortunate to learn from peers, faculty, and staff from a variety of backgrounds, but through the process of cultural immersion, they are more fully able to open themselves to the thoughts, identities, and experiences of others."

History, Literature, and the Arts

Lazio, Italy

Another small group of students will embark for Lazio, Italy, in June on a three-week trip to explore classical archaeology. The Academy's Classical Languages faculty believes that to really engage with the ancient past, students need to get their hands dirty. Archaeology can answer important questions that literature cannot about the habits and beliefs of non-elite Greeks and Romans as seen by the artifacts and buildings they left behind.

The first five days of the program will be spent exploring the history and archaeology of Rome, after which students will begin excavation work on-site the Gabii Project, an international archaeological initiative under the direction of Dr. Nicola Terrenato of the University of Michigan. The site of Gabii provides a unique opportunity to study the development and structure of cities in Central Italy. Exeter students’ arrival on-site coincides with the beginning of the Gabii Project field season, so they will be trained in the basics of excavation alongside other volunteers and will work in small teams supervised by a world-class faculty of archaeological instructors.

 

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