Connecticut College – Amy Martin
“As a high school student weighing his college options, Christopher Bothur ’07 was sure of one thing. “I grew up in Connecticut, I went to school in Connecticut, and I wanted to get as far away from Connecticut as possible,” he says. But a visit to Conn, where Bothur figured he’d at least inquire about study-abroad opportunities, would challenge, and quickly upend, his plans to leave the state. Bothur was struck by the College’s commitment to international education, highlighted by intensive language instruction, subsidized international internships and an interdisciplinary curriculum steeped in world affairs…in recent years, faculty, staff and students have been involved in discussions about how to revise and renew the general education curriculum, in place since 1973. One of the goals is to better integrate language and culture study into all facets of the student experience…All of the developments are designed to prepare Connecticut College graduates for an undeniable reality. “Students today need to be incredibly flexible in their ability to think across regional and traditional boundaries, while also synthesizing vast quantities of information,” says Amy Dooling, associate professor of Chinese and co-director of the Mellon Initiative on Global Education. “You can have an international career in New York City or Minneapolis or Atlanta. The reality right now in America is that global society is right here.” “(more)