Grenadiers on the Go: IU Southeast Students Study in the Field

IU Southeast Grenadiers were on the go this summer, studying both abroad and at home to gain more learning experiences and with creating wonderful memories. Grenadiers visited 3 different countries and 2 different US States to learn about diverse cultures and practical knowledge in their fields. 

IU Southeast students studied coral as part of their experience diving off the coast of Borneo.Dr. Omar Attum’s accompanies students on a visit to the Malaysian side of Borneo after spending the spring semester learning about the marine and rainforest ecology of the Malaysian side of the island. To understand what part of our lives is most contributing to solid waste pollution, they also conducted a trash survey and a coral bleaching assessment.  

Caitlin Boeschel got to dive on the trip and saw a Gree Sea Turtle as part of the experience. She has taken the opportunity and earned funding for an internship in Borneo next summer. 

“I am getting the opportunity to do field work with a species of animals I have always wanted to work with. This would never have happened if I did not study abroad with IU Southeast,” Boeschel said. 

Students from several IU campuses studied sustainability while in Germany over the summer.A combined group of IU Southeast, IU South Bend and IU East students took a two-week trip to the southern German cities of Tübingen and Freiburg to study “Fairytales, Forests, and Sustainability.” The trip was in association with a German course where students learned about the Brothers Grimm, read their folklore collection, and a sustainability course. 

During their stay, the group took hikes and self-directed nature-walks in the Swabian Jura and the Forest while examining the deep significance of woodlands and the natural world in German culture. 

Dr. Michael Hutchins explained that the sustainability component of the trip involved the students meeting with representatives of Germany’s Green Party in Tübingen to learn about the city’s plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030. They also visited an organic winery outside Tübingen to learn about sustainable agriculture in Germany and toured a model neighborhood in Freiburg that features ultra-low energy consumption housing. 

Will Canning was a student in the IU Southeast delegation and enjoyed the culture he got to experience. 

“I got to hear the [German] language, try to speak the language, meet the people, try the food, and live like a local.  I loved the lifestyle and would go back in a heartbeat,” Canning said. 

IU Southeast students learned about international business strategies in Singapore over the summer.The IUS School of Business took nine undergraduate and graduate students to Singapore. The students learned about doing business internationally and earned credit for a “Business in Singapore” course. The class was a mix of traditional classroom learning and on-site at Singapore businesses which consisted of some well-known names such as FedEx and Samtec that spoke to the students about the importance of Singapore in the international economy. In addition to completing the class, students were given many opportunities to immerse themselves in the culture of Singapore. Many students also took a weekend to visit the neighboring countries of Indonesia and Malaysia. 

 Dr. Catie Eichorn accompanied students on the trip and enjoyed seeing students “embrace a new culture and try some things outside of their comfort zone.” 

Kaylee Luse said that she was impressed with the class the group took. 

“Almost every class session involved some sort of company visit and it was really interesting to see companies from around the world operating a plant in Singapore and how their plant is contributing to the success of their company as a whole,” Luse said. 

IU Southeast students studied geology and geography during their trip to southern California this summer.In southern California, a group of students who took a cross-listed course in Regional Field Geology or Field Geography during the spring semester studied the area’s physical geology and geographic landscape/topography and the geological processes that shaped the landscape. 

Student Teri Popp said her favorite part of the trip was at the Shoshone Road Cut, which is in the southeast area of California heading towards Death Valley National Park.  

“We stopped and grabbed our field notebooks and cameras for an up-close viewing. The enthusiasm of the group for simply looking at rocks was amazing. Our instructors spent time exploring with us and explaining the dark band called vitrophyre and the rock formation above and below it,” said Popp. 

IU Southeast nursing students performed health screenings during their trip to Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota In early August, seven senior nursing students, accompanied by Dr. Julie Mattingly, visited the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, home of the Oglala Lakota tribe. Since 2016, this service-learning experience has been offered to students to complete the requirements for the S473 practicum (community/public health nursing).  

During this year’s trip, students provided non-diagnostic health screenings and education at the tribe’s health fair, at a community event, and at a local business. The focus of the trip was to learn about the Lakota culture through interactions with the tribal members, attending community events, and visiting historical sites in the reservation.  

“This immersion experience allowed for students to learn about the determinants of health and health disparities, as well as resilience, providing a unique opportunity for transformational hands-on learning,” said Mattingly. 

Through IU Southeast’s Study Abroad program, students are able to take the experiences and skills they gained in the classroom and apply them in the real world.  To learn more about the Study Abroad program, go to https://southeast.iu.edu/study-abroad/trips/index.html