It had been a damp and blustery day as the group of Honors Program students made their way toward Ross Castle, the 15th-century towerhouse located in Killarney National Park in southwest Ireland. As the exciting, but dreary, day pressed on, a large herd of Irish red deer suddenly dashed across the group’s path. At the same moment, a shaft of sunlight broke through the clouds casting a bright slash across the mountain range in the distance.
Reflecting on this moment, Jonathan Kuiken, associate professor of history and Honors Program director recalls, “I was behind the group and just got to enjoy the gasps and smiles of the students as they witnessed the natural beauty of the place. Moments like that make these trips worth all of the effort.”
The trips Kuiken is referring to are the biannual Honors Program international trips, which take place over the winter or spring breaks, as well as in the summer. This year, it was decided that a group of 10 Honors Program students would take a 10-day trip over spring break to Ireland, where there is not only an abundance of natural beauty, but also a wealth of historical and cultural history. Their trip had them spending several days each in Dublin, Galway and Killarney, visiting historical sites, taking guided tours, hiking to cliffside views, enjoying regional cuisine and generally immersing themselves in the culture.
For sophomore Kailey Vogel, an English and history dual major from Vernon, New Jersey, the trip to Ireland was her first time out of the country. Despite being fully prepared, she admits that nothing could do justice to what she actually witnessed when she arrived in Ireland.
“I remember traveling to the Cliffs of Moher one day and the Ring of Kerry another, and just being awestruck that places like that truly exist and that I was actually standing there to witness it. Everyone that we met was so helpful and knowledgeable about the different cities we traveled to, and we had a great group of Honors Program students with us overall, which just added to the fun,” says Vogel.
The Honors Program’s mission is “to recruit and retain exceptionally talented and highly motivated students by providing an enhanced interdisciplinary educational experience, which will drive intellectual, professional and personal achievement.” Specifically, the program offers students financial assistance, grant opportunities and experiential learning experiences as well as chances to develop and hone essential skills such as leadership, project management and public speaking.
Preparations for the Ireland trip began many months before in the fall, with bi-weekly meetings led by Kuiken and Assistant Director of the Honors Program Jen McLaughlin, EdD. These sessions centered around lessons on Irish history, culture and politics, giving students a wide-ranging overview so that they may gain more out of their experience.
For these trips, however, the learning opportunities extend well beyond the classroom. “I often joke that a week in a foreign country is just as educational as a semester in class,” Kuiken says. “Students don’t only gain from the traditionally educational aspects of the trip (i.e. visiting castles, museums, historic sites, etc.) but also from the more mundane things like navigating public transport, buying things at the grocery store or a pharmacy and learning the culture and customs of ordering food in a restaurant.”
As a Wilkes student, the trip to Ireland was just one facet of the program that Vogel found invaluable. “I highly recommend that if you are given the opportunity to join the Honors Program, take it! I truly can’t stress enough that the research opportunities, trips abroad, grant access and the Honors community as a whole allow you to experience Wilkes education to its fullest.”
