By NICHOLAS NEGRON
Opinion Editor
In early December I had a conversation with the president of The College of Saint Rose, Dr. Carolyn Stefanco. The topic of our conversation was about educational travel and Stefanco’s own experiences integrating this into the various institutions that she has worked in.
Stefanco’s first international experience was in high school. There was a sponsored spring break trip to Italy. The cost was $1,000. She still does not know how her parents paid the hefty price, but regardless, she was allowed to go. No members of the family had been outside of America, aside from military service obligations. That was how many were able to see the world, back then. Even today, it can be considered a perk of joining the armed forces. Stefanco was the first member of her family to fly internationally. It was also her first time on an airplane.
In preparation for the trip, her mother purchased a suitcase for her. The family never had one, because there was simply no need. In order to afford the suitcase, her mother borrowed a credit card of a friend’s. Stefanco still remembers what the suitcase looked like and deems it “very ugly.”
The travel bug then took hold in Stefanco. Years later, as a professor, she applied for an opportunity to teach at the University of London. In doing so, she would be bringing her 3-year-old daughter on the journey. At the time, there were no laws against discrimination for women with children in the workplace. This was a concern of hers. However, the program director took a chance on her.
She lived in the Bloomsbury area of central London. While in the U.K., she was able to travel to different cities and countries within Europe, further indulging her passion for travel.
Five years later, she served as the resident director for a study abroad program at the same London institution. In doing so, she again brought her daughter, who was then 8.
“For me, work, home and family have always been pretty well integrated. I know no other way to do it. It’s how I live my life,” said Stefanco.
While living in London, her sister visited her, with a young infant. Together they learned just how different London is from America. The city is not necessarily friendly to those with strollers and carriages or people with disabilities. There are almost no elevators. The sisters grew accustom to the culture, learning simple things, such as how to get around with children and even how Londoners did their laundry.
Eager to learn and work with new people, Stefanco changed institutions to California State University Stanislau, where she was the Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. This area of California was one of the centers of Portuguese immigration to the United States. The school had a Center for Portuguese Studies. Stefanco saw this as a learning opportunity, not knowing anything about Portuguese culture.
She approached the faculty member who ran the program, speaking with him about wanting to promote the center more. She saw this as an opportunity to make the school distinctive, especially with the large Portuguese population in the area. For years, the faculty member who ran the center felt as if what he cared about most was being ignored. His response to Stefnaco’s enthusiasm was miniscule; as if he’d heard the same speech before.
She began working closely with the Center of Portuguese Studies. They started studying issues across national boundaries that were a priority at the institution. Many faculty members were interested in homelessness, how it can be addressed, and ultimately solved.
It was discovered that one can learn much more about the United States and homelessness by looking at Lisbon, Portugal’s own issues; and how the city has worked to help the homeless population. They brought a scholar to give a lecture on the topic. Stefanco made sure to notify local media outlets and garner press for the event. It was after this that the professor running the Center finally believed in Stefanco’s intentions.
There was a school event to raise money for library books at the Center. A part of this event was a raffle. The grand prize was a round trip to Portugal. To Stefanco’s dismay, she won the grand prize. She, along with her daughter, flew to The Azores, and was given a magnificent tour of Terceira and the various islands. During the Running of the Bulls in Terceira, she wound up on the back of a flatbed truck with her daughter, surrounded by locals as the bulls were running through the streets. She then flew to Lisbon, looking for partners for her institution, to make a pathway for faculty to travel and for students to exchange. All of this leads up to Stefanco finally mustering the nerve to apply for a Fulbright program.
“I was at a state university that was focused more on teaching. I wasn’t known as a scholar. It just seemed like I wasn’t good enough in some kind of way. I don’t know if I ever really thought it through. But, for ten years I had been thinking of applying and never did. I just didn’t think it was for me. I thought it was for people who had achieved more,” she explained.
An administrator at Stefanco’s institution pulled her aside one day, asking her to complete a leadership program at Harvard. He didn’t believe she had as much confidence as she thought she had. Stefanco didn’t feel she belonged at Harvard, and couldn’t deliver what would be expected of her. She decided to complete the program. After coming back, there was a month left in the deadline for faculty Fulbright positions. She spent the next month working frantically on her application. People generally take months to complete these applications.
Her first choice was to go to Iceland, where there was a center for research on women. However, she was steered towards the University of Zagreb in Croatia. She would be a more competitive candidate and was ultimately chosen. Croatia had just gone through a civil war. Stefanco’s discipline is in history, having studied the American Civil War extensively. There, she would teach in the American studies program.
She taught an undergraduate-level seminar on American women’s history and culture. She was also asked to teach a graduate seminar in comparative literature. This was outside her discipline. The seminar was offered on weekends. People took trains throughout Eastern Europe to take the course. The classes took place on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Then they would take the train home.
Most of the students were older, and had gone through their undergraduate schooling under a communist regime. Stefanco’s goal was to teach them “how to create an idea that was theirs.” The students were used to a memorization style of education, where the professor is always correct.
She went around the classroom, and asked every student to say something about the book they had just read. Even this was a stretch for the students. They all were waiting for the professor to tell them what to think of the book. She was able to use humor to break through to the students. She explained to them that this was going to be a new and stretching experience. She was excited to learn from them as well. Aside from teaching, she also did research involving interviewing people who had lived through the Croatian Civil War.
There are precautions to be taken before traveling outside of the country. It is important to register with the US Department of State. Traveling is unpredictable. While Stefanco was living in Croatia, she had a brush with the police. It was difficult to obtain a residence permit. The police did not make the process easy.
“One day I was in my apartment, my daughter had gone to school, high school at this point. Then, “bang bang bang, policia! Policia! You’re coming with us!” I said give me a moment. I locked the door and called the embassy and said the police are here and they’re taking me. They said, “don’t worry, we’ll find you.” But they didn’t find me for a long time,” Stefanco recounted.
“I was taken off to this police station where they asked me inane questions, most of which I couldn’t answer. It was all about scaring me, putting me through my paces before they passed me off to the next group in this process of getting my residence permit. Some of the questions were, how many square meters is your apartment? I wouldn’t know in feet, let alone meters. Does your husband know you’re here? Do you have proof that he gave you permission to be here? That was definitely a scary time.”
She was eventually able to travel back to Croatia for a second time.
Stefanco believes that as Americans we tend to believe all the danger is abroad. However, many believe the danger is in America. We have gun violence and bombings. Even while in England, the flat she stayed in came with a binder explaining what to do if there was an IRA (Irish Republican Army) bombing. Thankfully, there were no further bombings. It is important to take safety precautions, traveling anywhere.
There are still places she hopes to travel. Vietnam is one of them. Her in-laws sponsored many Vietnamese people after the Vietnam War ended. Her husband lived with them while attending high school. They became a part of the family. She hopes to travel to Vietnam this spring with her brother-in-law, and see the country through his eyes.
“For many students who don’t have international travel experience, going with a faculty member and going with other students from your institution for a short period of time is the best first thing to do, because you have the comfort and familiarity of the people you know,” says Stefanco.
She agrees that there is much to be done at The College of Saint Rose to promote international study. Often times, science majors have the hardest time studying abroad. Science programs are so rigid that one cannot afford to miss a semester. Stefanco believes through fundraising, more students will have opportunities to travel. The playing field must be evened.
This is exactly what Stefanco did at her last institution. People believed that an international experience was essential in preparation for life after college, so they were willing to endow scholarships for abroad experiences; even if they were just a two-week excursion. She deems herself to be a good position to help the cause because she’s seen the changes in herself, along with other faculty and students as a result of an international experience.
All of the research and travel that President Stefanco has done has taught her that an international experience is an integral component of education. She hopes to make this possible at Saint Rose, and has taken an active role. Options are currently being explored. Hopefully in the future, international travel will become more viable for more of the Saint Rose community.
