Upon coming to Temple University, I always knew that I wanted to participate in a Study Away program with Temple’s School of Media and Communication, but I never thought I’d have the opportunity to do so as a freshman.
Back in October, I remember Allie Miller, assistant director for Study Away, coming into my freshman seminar class to speak about study away opportunities, including the upcoming Arcosanti program that would take place in Arcosanti, Arizona during spring break 2017. During the 10-day trip, participants would take a 3-credit course called Media, Technology & Ecology, where we’d analyze the relationship between media and the environment.
I went out on a limb and applied for the program, not really expecting anything to come of it. Later, I was notified that I’d been accepted to the program…with a scholarship! I was excited because it became real to me that upon accepting this offer, I could potentially be spending Spring break studying away in Arizona.
Of course I accepted the offer, the hardest part now being that I had to wait four-and-a-half months until spring break rolled around.
Fast forward to spring break. Once I boarded my plane at the Philadelphia airport and took my window seat, I smiled. I finally came to the realization that I was ready to begin this journey and take on any challenges that came with it.
Even though most of us had never gotten a chance to get to know each other, we all ended up bonding quickly. Out of the 25 students that participated in the program, only 3 were freshmen – me being one of them.
Each morning at Arcosanti we met with Dr. Barry Vacker and Dr. Patrick Murphy, professors from the School of Media and Communication at Temple University, and had a discussion about environmental issues and how humans are contributing to them. Their passion and knowledge about the subject allowed every student to take a real interest in the material.
By the end of this trip, the lesson I learned was that without technology and media being able to capture images and tell stories of how our planet is now undergoing rapid changes due to increasing, harmful human activity, our whole society would be blind to these truths. As present-day communicators, it’s important, now more than ever, to spread messages that will be received and comprehended by all audiences, creating a real change to save our planet.
The concept of “arcology,” created by Paolo Soleri, architect and designer of the Arcosanti community, fuses together concepts of architecture and ecology, making resourceful and mindful decisions regarding the structure and lifestyle at Arcosanti.
The views were incredible because the whole sky was visible, and the stars were so bright! This is a view Temple University students are stripped of, due to living in an urban area.
One of our day trips was to the Grand Canyon. This trip meant a lot to me, because it’s always been a dream of mine to visit the Grand Canyon. It’s something I thought I’d never be able to see until much later in my lifetime. Seeing it in person was overwhelming! I felt like my eyes weren’t able to process the whole view.
Lastly, the next thing I knew, I had 25 new best friends with whom I shared a journey with that will forever be cherished. Not only has this trip given me 3 credits in just 10 days, but it gave me the urge to explore new places and practice new, resourceful ways of living. We all took away a mindset from this experience that allows us to be more mindful of the way we use our resources and inhabit our planet.
I’ve become overwhelmingly grateful to have been given the opportunity and experience to travel to Arcosanti over spring break with Temple University. I truly gained more than I ever could’ve expected!