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This is our nineteenth year of operation of the program that was conceived in 1987, developed in 1988, and begun with the first two international experience programs in January 1989. Since the advent of the program, there have been more than 2200 participants in 111 international programs (Study Tours and Language Immersion) led by nearly 200 faculty leaders. There have been 32 additional students in our international internships and 24 students in our relatively new semester/year-abroad special Exchange Programs in Hong Kong, Northern Ireland, and Australia. More than five years ago, in April 2000, as the result of a most generous gift to the college, we proudly became the John Belk International Program at Queens College – now, of course, Queens University of Charlotte. Since that time, the moniker of JBIP has taken hold and the program continues to prosper. In May 2001, we saw the inauguration of our unique environmental studies program on the Pacific island of Yap, in Micronesia. In 2005, we saw the first of our students heading to Strasbourg, France to participate in Robert Schumann University’s special program on “European Integration” and “Business in Europe.” We are hoping to expand our offerings in the coming years, particularly to non-European destinations.
Our faculty-led study tours have visited Italy, France, Greece, East Germany, West Germany, reunified Germany, Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Holland, Belgium, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, England, South Korea, China, Tibet, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Australia. We have had language programs in Limoges and Nice in France, in Santander and Nerja in Spain, and in San José and Manuel Antonio in Costa Rica. Other students have opted to improve their language skills in Munich, Germany and Florence, Italy.
We have been to Hadrian's Wall, the Great Wall, the DMZ at Panmunjom, and the Berlin Wall – the latter before, during, and after the fall of Communism. We watched the Civic Forum during its rise to moral leadership in Czechoslovakia (with one group even meeting Vaclav Havel at dinner in a Prague restaurant). We watched Vladimir Zhirinovsky harangue a street demonstration in Moscow. We have experienced the grandeur of the mountains of Tibet, climbed Italy's Vesuvius, ascended the Zugspitz and the Schilthorn, and, midst snow and wild flowers, stared in awe at the Eiger and the Jungfrau. We have descended into the catacombs of Rome, the sewers of Paris, and the salt mines of Bercht¬esgaden. We have seen Les Mis, Phantom, and the Pope. And the tombs of Lenin, Mao, and Napoleon. We have ridden the Glacier Express, the Orient Express, the Trans-Siberian and the Trans-Mongolian railroads. We have floated on Lake Baikal, the Thames, the Seine, the Rhine, the Aegean, and the canals of Venice, Strasbourg, Bruges, and Amsterdam. We have visited the Black Forest, the English moors, the Yorkshire Dales, the Beaches of Normandy, Bastogne and the Ardennes, the American Cemetery in Luxembourg, and the death camps at Dachau and Auschwitz.
Our students have completed summer internships with The Wall Street Journal Europe in Brussels; Bank of America in London; Shakespeare's Globe in London and the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon; Heidrick & Struggles in Barcelona; France Langue in Nice; Habitat for Humanity in Christchurch, New Zealand; the Lilliput Press in Dublin; Price Waterhouse in Madrid; Amnesty International in Wellington, New Zealand; Caritas, in Rostock, Germany; the Victoria School (for handicapped children) in Poole, Dorset, England; the German CDU Fraktion in Mecklenburg; the Half Moon Theatre in London; Philipp Holzmann and its subsidiaries in Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, Paris, and Madrid; and many more. These summer-long internships have provided students with work experience in the areas of marketing, banking, accounting, management, education, publishing, theatre production, medical research, laboratory analysis, politics and government, and public and social service. These internships provide the students with a wonderful experience living and working in a foreign culture.
We believe that a global perspective is crucial to an effective understanding of the world in the new millennium. We believe that we explore not only to discover the world but also to discover ourselves. We try to have meaningful encounters with other cultures – not just insulated tourist activity. We do this through various means: the John Belk International Program is organically linked with the university's academic program; we require all participants to pass the semester-long academic prep course in order to go on the study tour; when possible the participants have home stays, or meet with local people for a variety of discussions; they must keep a daily reflective journal and conduct interviews with the local people; we cultivate contacts wherever we can find them in every regular or potential study tour location; we have the study tours led by faculty who have experience living or studying in the region; we work at being creative and adventurous, imaginative and bold; we try to prepare for the experience before we have it, and we reflect upon it afterwards.
We believe that international experience is critical to enlightened understanding and effective citizenship in the twenty-first century. For 19 years now we have backed that belief with a commitment to invest in an international experience for all of our students.
Eric J. Lien
Director, The John Belk International Program
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