AACC Community 0405 - Anne Arundel Community College

AACC Travel-study
Programs This Spring
“A Visit to Luther’s Germany” in
conjunction with “The Protestant
Reformation” (HIS 280) from March
20-30, estimated cost $3,000; contact
Kathy J. Lohff,
kjlohff@aacc.edu or 410-777-2434.
“Shakespeare’s Plays in
Shakespeare’s England” (ENG
260) from May 9-18, estimated
cost, $2,800; contact Margaret A.
Boas, maboas@aacc.edu or
410-777-2735.
“Doing Business in China” (BPA
296) from May 19-30, estimated
cost $3,170; contact Bill P. Yuan,
bpyuan@aacc.edu or
410-777-2765.
“The Chicago Frank Lloyd
Wright Experience” (ACH 260),
June 16-23, estimated cost $1,500;
contact Michael D. Ryan,
mdryan@aacc.edu or
410-777-2437.
For Hospitality, Culinary Arts and
Tourism Institute internships, call
410-777-2398 or visit
www.aacc.edu/hcat
AACC Travel-study Courses
“History of Medieval and
Renaissance England” (HIS 227);
contact David Tengwall, Ph.D.,
dltengwall@aacc.edu or
410-777-2434.
“The Italian Renaissance” (HIS
281); contact Frank W. Alduino,
Ph.D., fwalduino@aacc.edu or
410-777-2469.
“History and Culture of Spain and
Portugal,” with David L. Tengwall,
Ph.D., and Thomas Edison, Ph.D.;
contact Tengwall,
dltengwall@aacc.edu or
410-777-2434.
ONE WORLD
hand … gives them a strong base and
advantage when they transfer to a university
program,” he said.
Giving students an international
experience is especially pertinent to
the culinary arts, too, so in 2002,
AACC’s Hospitality, Culinary Arts and
Tourism Institute launched a 10-week
culinary internship on the Amalfi Coast
of Italy. Students work for usually 10 to
12 hours a day, five to six days a week in
some of the world’s leading resorts.
Immediately, they are immersed in the
daily life of an Italian culinary worker,
speaking only Italian, grasping nuances
of co-workers and bosses and gleaning
the culture.While they arrive with
strong culinary skills and the basics of
the Italian language, they have to adapt
to new ways of food preparation, different
work ethics and people speaking a
foreign language, all very quickly.
Mary Ellen Mason, director of the
HCAT Institute, said that international
experience gives the students an advantage
in competing against other emerging
chefs. Most participants come back
with enhanced skills, she said, but more
importantly, with a global perspective
and an appreciation of a new culture.
The students recognize the value of
the opportunity. David Garcia-Reyes,
who went to Italy two summers ago, said
he wanted to go because he felt learning
from international chefs in their home
country ought to be a requirement for
every well-educated chef.
Former HCAT student and one of
the first Italian interns, Eric Johns,
agrees, saying that the internship was the
“most intense work/life environment
ever, (but) I loved the challenge.”
Mason also has a new opportunity
for her students, a 16-week internship
in Hawaii in collaboration with
Kapi'olani Community College in
Honolulu. Students participate in
HOST 290E, a three-credit internship
course with the option of interning in
culinary or management at local hotels
and restaurants. Projected cost is $6,000,
which includes airfare, tuition and rent
for student housing.
A challenge for all travel-study
courses is funding. Mason said the students
in HCAT’s Italian culinary
internship have received some scholarships
to help make that trip affordable.
Yuan set up the China trip so that the
travel was part of the credit course, so
students will be able to use financial
aid for the trip. Also, he said that Philip
E. and Carole R. Ratcliffe Foundation
Entrepreneurial Studies Scholarship
students can use that scholarship to
finance the trip. Ezrow said another
barrier is that some students work full
time. Even if they can get the time off
for the trip, they may not be able to
lose the income from that job while
they are traveling, she said.Tengwall
suggested setting up the course travel
fees as lab fees so that they would be
considered part of a course’s tuition
and fees to help students receiving
financial aid afford the courses.
The AACC Foundation worked
with HCAT to set up the Italian scholarships
and can help donors set up a
scholarship that would help defray travel
costs of other programs.The privately
funded scholarship program at the foundation
has grown tremendously over the
years due to the generous and consistent
support of individuals, corporations and
community organizations. Anyone interested
in establishing a scholarship fund
to benefit AACC students may contact
Stacey Sickels Heckel, executive director,
at 410 777-2515 or
foundation@aacc.edu.
But the students’ reflections on their
trips prove that they realize what they’ve
learned from the trips.
“I recommend everyone get out of
the country at least once to gain a true
international, even universal, perspective,”
said Robinson.
“I have truly met a goal I thought I
could never touch. I have met friends to
last a lifetime and (gained) enough experience
to use in everyday life,” said Tipton.
Anne Arundel Community College • Winter 2008 • 10