Exonians Travel and Learn Around The World
From Greece to Japan to Hawaii, dozens of Exonians had the opportunity to see the world this summer. The trips varied in destination and purpose: students took trips to France, Italy and Greece on Classics Department programs, Japan for language immersion or physics research at RIKEN laboratory, Hawaii for the Student Global Leadership Institute, Cambridge for the Global Citizens Youth Summit, Atlanta for the Future Business Leaders of America national conference, Indiana for a Junior Classical League conference and numerous other places for athletic trips. Additionally, a number of seniors individually participated in internships and jobs across the United States.
Director of Exeter’s Global Initiatives and English instructor Eimer Page anticipates the summer programs will remain in place and that new language, social service and science- based options will be created as options for younger students. “I’d love us to offer more travel for students finishing prep year, since most of our programs are designed for older students,” Page said.
According to Page, the internships are “highly selective” as there are multiple applicants for each slot. Only the top students in their respective subject are chosen and given a stipend to cover expenses. Seniors Myles Haigney and Arjun Rajan participated in a six-week internship as an extension of the Biology 670 genetics course at Seung Kim’s Pancreas and Diabetes Research Lab at Stanford University. They were the only high schoolers working full-time alongside postdoctoral and graduate researchers in this molecular and genetic medicine lab. Their goal was to map the distinct expression patterns of the transgenes they inserted into around 30 fly lines. To accomplish this, they dissected stained proteins and used fluorescence microscope imaging. Haigney found it intriguing to participate in research where the result wasn’t predetermined.
“It was a really amazing experience working with such an accomplished and intelligent bunch of researchers,” he said. “They were all really helpful and often explained really difficult and complex concepts when we struggled.”
“This was my first time really travelling internationally I didn’t expect it to catch me so off guard how beautiful France is at every turn, how different the culture is and, most importantly, the people that you’ll bond with on the trip. That alone made it a life-changing trip for me.”
Seniors Dirk Komarnitsky and John Wang traveled to Tokyo and stayed with a host family for a week before their two-week summer program at the Nishina School at RIKEN. The program, which is normally for undergraduate and graduate students, is held every year by Dr. Takashi Kishida of the Nishina Center for Accelerator-Based Science, and Exeter students who have taken AP Physics have been attending it for four years now.
While at RIKEN, the students listened to a week of lectures before conducting a week of experiment and data analysis which cumulated into a 30-minute presentation.
Komarnitsky said he would recommend the trip because it a great experience to work in a top-notch institution like RIKEN, while also heavily financially subsidized. “Who doesn’t love a nearly free trip to Japan?... Most importantly it was really exciting to see another culture and immerse in an interesting branch of physics and be part of a world class institution like RIKEN,” he said.
Exeter’s internships also extended to the island Oahu, Hawaii this past August where senior Mac Perry worked with the Student Global Leadership Institute. According to the Punahou School, the Institute’s mission is to “galvanize positive social change” by enabling students to take action regarding global challenges and develop into international youth leaders. The Institute fosters development in skills such as problem-solving, collaboration, communication and multicultural perspectives.
When asked what he hoped to get out of the experience, Perry explained that his goal was to gain a greater understanding of climate change and how it affects the planet through the eyes of students across the globe. Students heard several speakers throughout the trip and collaborated in group games and problem solving exercises.
Perry said that one of the most notable experiences of the program was hiking to the top of the Makapu’u lighthouse trail where the group sang a traditional Hawaiian sun chant as they watched the sunrise. “I would definitely recommend [this internship] to a friend due to the fact that you are able to learn so much through the conversations you are able to share with the other students on the trip and experience the natural beauty of Oahu,” Perry said.
The Classics department hosted three trips that traveled across France, Italy and Greece. This included a six-week archaeology dig at Mount Lykaion in Greece for three graduated seniors and a four-week archaeology dig in Orvieto, Italy for four rising seniors.
Instructors of Classical Languages Paul Langford and Megan Campbell chaperoned a separate Roman-Gaul group. The ten rising lowers and uppers spent two weeks learning about archaeological excavations at the Gallo-Roman site of Bibracte and another week discovering the Roman remains of southern France.
Many students were attracted to the Roman-Gaul trip because it complemented several history and Latin classes they had taken during the school year. In one Roman history class, students discussed Caesar and the Gallic War, which is why lower Janiva Dimen applied. She described the trip as “one of the best experiences” of her life. “One of my favorite memories from the trip is swimming under the Pont du Gard,” she said. After a long day, it was great to cool off and watch Mr. Langford’s synchronized swimming.”
Lower Taylor Robertson described the trip as a “traveling Harkness class that never ended.” He joked that they all improved in their archeology since the students had never done it before. “We bonded like a family over those three weeks,” he said.
For the final reflections regarding the trip, Campbell sang high praises on her blog for the participating students and their dedication to the program. She touched upon her appreciation for the respect, kindness and good humor consistently shown by the participants. “I also loved the unquenchable curiosity that they brought to every site and museum that we visited; never seemed to tire of visiting one more site or monument,” Campbell wrote.
Lower Calvin Henaku found the long hours of archeology work to be rewarding. “This was my first time really travelling internationally I didn’t expect it to catch me so off guard how beautiful France is at every turn, how different the culture is and, most importantly, the people that you’ll bond with on the trip,” he said. “That alone made it a life-changing trip for me.”