Students Invited to Global Education Emphasis Week

Bluefield College will host its annual Global Education Emphasis Week, March 16-20, featuring guest speaker Judit B. Horváth, a visiting Fulbright Scholar from Hungary.

Students and faculty are invited to participate in the activities of Global Education Emphasis Week, including two presentations by Horváth on Monday and Tuesday, March 16-17. Horváth will present “Aspects of Motivation in Contemporary Education” at 4 p.m. on Monday and “History, Identity and Culture in Hungary” at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, both in the Science Center Lyceum.

Also on Tuesday, Dr. Rob Merritt, a BC professor of English, will offer readings of Irish poetry and limericks at 12:15 p.m. in the Student Activities Center. And on Wednesday, March 18, BC’s Katharina Zausek, an international student from Austria, will share “All About Austria” in a presentation at 3 p.m. in Science 305. Later on Wednesday, students will be offered insight into modern Asian cultures through the presentation of the film Crazy Rich Asians at 7 p.m. in Lansdell 311.

Activities on Thursday, March 19 will feature the presentation of the documentary Defying the Nazis: The Sharp Story. A discussion of the documentary will follow, led by April Cassidy, who introduced the film to BC during a recent interfaith gathering.

The final day of Global Education Emphasis Week, Friday, March 20, will include the presentation of “Butterflies of Southern Africa” by Dr. Saunders, BC professor of chemistry, at 10 a.m. in Lansdell 311, followed by a presentation from Dr. Jeff Teo, a BC Fulbright Scholar in Lithuania, at 2 p.m. in Science 305.

Dr. Maria Zalduondo, director of Global Education, said that Global Education Emphasis Week stresses the value of being competent global citizens in a rapidly changing global culture. She said the activities of the week help bring global awareness to the BC campus.

“Being globally aware or a ‘global citizen’ means having the skills necessary to be open to other cultures, and as I like to say, ‘ways of being,'” Dr. Zalduondo said. “As we become more globally connected through the internet and interactions with others different than us, it is important to be educated and learn to respect other perspectives, cultures, religions, and nations.”

Dr. Zalduondo added that more employers are seeking globally minded employees who will be able to work with others who come from different backgrounds. She said the activities and events of Global Education Emphasis Week will help students form their own perspectives about the world and their place in it.

“Educational opportunities do not always occur with textbooks and in the classroom,” she added.

In addition to Global Education Emphasis Week, Dr. Zalduondo said Bluefield College offers other opportunities for students to increase their global awareness, including:

• Getting to know BC international students on campus who come from places like Austria and Zimbabwe.
• Becoming a pen pal to a student in another university abroad.
• Learning a foreign language, including BC’s Spanish classes that offer travel and adventure to the 26 countries that speak the language.
• Studying abroad. For example, for less than $4,000 students can spend a month in China through a cultural exchange program with Jiangsu Second Normal University in Nanjing, China, or go to Ireland in a course with Dr. Merritt and Professor Wendy Beavers, or spend a semester of study in London, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, and the Middle East. 

All events for Global Education Emphasis Week are open and free to students, employees, and the public. Students who participate will receive vocatio credit for the events they attend. For more information, please contact Dr. Zalduondo at mzalduondo@bluefield.edu.