DC Students Go Global

DEFIANCE, Ohio –  Defiance College announced recently a dramatic expansion in international travel opportunities open to DC students through the introduction of its path-breaking DC Global Program.

DC Global, open to entering full-time freshmen starting in August, 2011 who go on to successfully complete the full four-year program at Defiance College, will provide funding to enable each student to have an international travel experience before he or she graduates.

Student travel experiences supported through DC Global are expected to include opportunities such as trips designed by faculty in a student’s major, international service projects through the McMaster School for Advancing Humanity, travel with the Honors program or with a DC sports team, and scholarship support to help defray travel costs for a summer study abroad program.

“The possibilities are endless,” said Mark Gordon, Defiance College president.  “For example, imagine the ways that Defiance students will benefit from being able to conduct research in tropical countries, meeting with business leaders in different European capitals, seeing first-hand different countries’ approaches to education, law enforcement, or sport management, and much more.  Our students can truly have a distinctive Defiance Resume which can help them to stand out in the job market and in applying to graduate school.”

“This is just another example of the ways in which Defiance College offers students the best of all worlds,” added Gordon.  “At DC, students get the benefits of individualized attention in a small college environment while also being able to take advantage of a world of opportunities.”

DC Global builds on the pioneering work started by Harold and Helen McMaster with the creation of the McMaster School for Advancing Humanity.  “The McMaster Family set Defiance College on the path toward opening our students’ minds to the challenges of being truly global citizens,” said Mary Ann Studer, Dean of the McMaster School for Advancing Humanity. “DC Global is now building on that McMaster foundation in a very exciting way.”

Lynn Haller, a senior from Antwerp, Ohio, already knows firsthand the benefits gained from an international experience. She has traveled to Western Europe through the College’s Carolyn M. Small Honors Program. “I gained valuable skills traveling internationally and working as part a team,” she said. “It helped prepare me for a career in the business world.  I learned to adapt and interact with people from different cultural backgrounds, something that is discussed in class but has greater meaning when it’s experienced in real life.”

Defiance College, chartered in 1850, is an independent, liberal arts institution in Northwest Ohio offering more than 40 undergraduate programs of study as well as graduate programs in education and business. Defiance College has received national recognition for its educational experience of service and engagement. The college website is www.defiance.edu.

March 3, 2011