Study Abroad

IRISH EYES

On MTSU’s inaugural Video and Film Production and Interactive Media study abroad trip, a trio of faculty members led students through Dublin and Galway to kiss the Blarney Stone, learn how to pour the perfect pint at Guinness, and play Gaelic football and hurling, all while learning traditional Irish folk songs and eating proper fish and chips.

The group, under the guidance of faculty members Frank Barnas, Marie Barnas, and Todd O’Neill, also visited the Cliffs of Moher and the Aran Islands, where the locals still speak Irish. The Interactive Media majors networked and made connections with Irish companies and professionals in their field, and the video/ film students shot footage for promotional videos, watched Irish films, and wrote screenplays based in Ireland. Sláinte!

TOPICS ’N’ TROPICS

Belize Prime Minister John Briceño granted a private audience to the 2022 Recording Industry study abroad group to allow a direct exchange of ideas regarding supporting creativity in the country and improving the infrastructure of Belize’s intellectual property protections for its talent. Recording Industry Professor Deborah Wagnon launched the program in 2014 and continues to travel with Recording Industry students each summer to the Central American nation.

SUMMER IN PARIS

Five students studying abroad in France for two weeks this summer gathered original photos, video, and audio of many of the “off the beaten path” places in Paris.

Along the way, some of their adventures included touring the catacombs, interviewing a Paris Metro busker, shooting a story from an accordion singalong in a quirky restaurant in the 20th arrondissement (district in Paris), and discovering some of the hidden away Parisian speakeasies.

Of course, the entourage also saw many iconic sites in and around Paris such as the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, the Louvre, Montmartre, and Giverny, including taking a boat tour of the Seine River. Several group members got tickets to a French Open match at Roland Garros. School of Journalism and Strategic Media faculty members Christine Eschenfelder and Dan Eschenfelder led the MTSU Signature Study Abroad program.

After returning from abroad, the students put together a website and television special report for Middle Tennessee News called “Off the Beaten Path: Paris.” The special, featuring stories and on-camera work shot on location in France, is part of a recurring series aimed at developing students’ skills in the field and in storytelling.