Written by Aerial Whiting
For most Harding students, spring break is a time to go home and relax. For others, it is a chance to go on mission trips or work at their job.
But next semester, about 20 students will still be in school – in Italy.
The College of Communication will take two teams of mass communication students to Florence from tentatively March 4 to 14. One team will use multimedia to tell stories about HUF, while the other team will make a promotional documentary of a few HUF students’ experiences.
The College of Communication has partnered with International Programs to make the first study abroad mass communication course. Communication professors Jack Shock, Jim Miller and Michael James as well as International Programs president Jeffrey Hopper will lead the program. Seniors Nick Michael and Tyler Jones will also work at the program as assistant directors.
The multimedia team will be responsible for videotaping, photographing and writing about HUF life. They will then produce stories for The Link, the College of Communication’s news Web site. To this end, the directors are looking for good storytellers.
“We’re looking for ambitious, responsible students who know how to tell – who know what a good story is, and know how to tell a good story in a variety of ways,” Miller said.
The Link team will function as its own newsroom, with students meeting each day to discuss story ideas and then going out and reporting on issues inside and outside the villa, such as Florentine people’s concerns and the politics of Florence, Miller said.
Separate from the first group, the documentary team will follow about four students who will attend HUF for the spring 2010 semester. They will film some of the students before they leave for Florence, gather footage of them while in Italy and conduct exit interviews with the students at the conclusion of the program.
“We want to draw a character arc and say, ‘Here’s who you are before you leave for HUF, and here’s who you are after,'” Michael said. “And we want people to see that that’s a worthwhile investment.”
Once the documentary is completed, it is supposed to be put on DVDs and handed out to incoming freshman as a way to generate interest in study abroad programs. The directors believe that the best way to promote the program is visually, according to Michael.
The documentary is intended to promote study abroad programs during a difficult economic time, Michael said. The film will address safety, housing, activities and personal growth.
Students accepted into the program will meet as a class both before and after the trip for the whole semester, according to Shock. While in Florence, the students will work long hours gathering information for their respective assignments.
The program costs regular tuition and an additional $500 course fee, which covers airfare, food and lodging at the Bible school, where the mass communication students will stay. It counts as COMM 340, which may be substituted for another communication course agreed upon by both the student and the student’s adviser.
Students who apply to the program are required to submit a resume and cover letter, but the rest of the application process is open-ended. Applicants may send portfolios detailing their experiences in mass communication.
The directors are looking for students with a range of skills to participate in the program because of the various jobs involved – filming, writing and so on.
“We’re looking for specific skill sets, of course, but we’re really interested in students who understand this trip is not just about the pasta,” Shock said. “We will work long hours every day, and students will be expected to be ready for a rigorous week of learning that we will hope will serve them well in their future educational experiences and job search.”
