Ben Winkler-McCue carefully considered his options for finding a coastal university in a Spanish speaking country (having spent a year studying in Costa Rica), where he could study toward his double major in Ecology, Behavior and Evolution, and Spanish Studies – while continuing his passion for surfing. At the Universidad de Cantabria in Santander he has found the courses he wanted and the ocean three blocks from the apartment he shares with international students. He put his work experience at a Santa Cruz Deli to good use recently when he helped serve a birthday feast in Basque country. “Surrounded by French Basques who didn’t speak a lick of English, I never felt out of place.”
Ellen Holloway (Spain, 2001-02)
Ellen Holloway (whose e-mail is ellieingranada) is enrolled in studies toward her degree in Spanish Literature. A high school exchange program in Chile sparked her interest in continuing Spanish, while volunteering at a Davis hospital encouraged her to consider medical school or a career in public health. Ellie seems to have a knack for creating travel opportunities.
Christopher Beck (Italy, 2001-02)
Christopher Beck is attending the Universitá degli Studi di Bologna – Europe’s oldest university “where the ghosts of Petrarch, Dante, Copernicus and others roam”. As a Philosophy major with future plans for international law, Christopher is taking classes with impressive titles like Storia dell’Estetica e Fenomenologia and Filosofia dell’India e dell’Asia Orientale. He reports that his professors seem very passionate about what they do, although this does not make them punctual for lectures. Despite the bureaucratic mysteries, “I know I’m in the right place,” writes Christopher.