Eight Hastings College students have been selected for the Irish Fellowship program, a competitive study abroad program offered annually to students.
The group is leaving at the end of this week for Lahinch, in County Clare, Ireland, and will return in mid-October. While in Ireland, students work to complete an independent research project aligning with their academic interest. Upon the completion of their research, students will present their findings in a public forum. All students had to submit their research proposals as part of the application process.
Hastings College’s block schedule allows the travel, as well as completion of the required history course, Ireland, 1798 to the Present, to happen in Block 2. Unlike in past years, students do not have to miss multiple classes to participate in the program.
“Irish Fellows is an extraordinary undergraduate program that gives students the opportunity to learn a number of academic and life skills,” said Dr. Rob Babcock, a Hastings College history professor and advisor of the program. “It begins with producing a project proposal, which includes a research component, and then traveling to a foreign country where they’ll live and complete their research work on their own. It is the kind of opportunity that students usually don’t get to participate in until graduate school.”
The program is sponsored by Hastings College, funded partially by donations from alumni and friends of the college, and exists in partnership with Davy Spillane, the Grammy Award-winning Irish musician. The goal of the program is to blend on-campus coursework with independent study while in County Clare, a region in west Ireland that offers remarkable educational opportunities.
This is the first group of Irish Fellows students since the last group returned home early from their experience in March 2020 due to the Covid pandemic.
The 2022-23 Irish Fellows recipients include:
- Caroline Anderson, an accounting and business administration major from Hastings, Nebraska, studying “Farm Production and Marketing Operations in County Clare, Ireland.”
- Myah Brown, a biology major from Grand Island, Nebraska, studying “Comparative Analysis of Type 1 Diabetes Care in Nebraska and Ireland.”
- Savanah Ellis, an art and international relations major from Arapahoe, Nebraska, proposing two original murals called “The Walls Connecting Us.”
- Nicole Halsey, an education major from Grand Island, Nebraska, studying “The Effects of Small Class Sizes in Rural Schools on Students’ Behavior and Academic Performance.”
- Jake Levinson, a criminology major from Breckenridge, Colorado, studying “Irish Influence on American Music from 1847 to 1900, with Particular Attention to the Songs of the American Civil War.”
- Hailey Moore, a history and theatre major from Juniata, Nebraska, studying “Second Wave Feminism in Rural Ireland.”
- Addelaide Steele of Palisade, Colorado, studying “The Impact of Collegiate Athletics on Two Communities – A Comparison Study between Ireland and the US.”
- Dakotah Willems, an MAT student in history education from Commerce City, Colorado, studying “The Ladies Land League.”
Hastings College is a four-year residential college that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement. Discover more at hastings.edu.
