History class becomes real when the international study program, Nicholls Europe, plans to make their 39th trip to five European countries—Italy, France, Germany, Tuscany and Switzerland.
Nicholls Europe is a sixteen-day round-trip that begins in New Orleans and ends in Germany from June 6 to 21, 2012.
James Barnidge, program director and instructor of history, leads the group through a number of historical artifacts and cities that are commonly talked about in history class. Kathy Dugas, instructor of history, helps Barnidge with the tour in Europe.
“It is a way to take students and show them the rest of the world,” Barnidge said.
The Nicholls Europe program is open to anyone who is interested in going.
“Some students have the opinion that it is just for history students, but it is not,” Barnidge said. “It is open to students, alumni and citizens from the community.”
Enrollment starts now for the 2012 trip. There are spots open for up to 90 people to go on the trip. The cost of the trip is $3,995.
“We normally fill up by October or November,” Barnidge said. “We usually fill up by that time because it is very popular. We have had to put a limit on it for these last few years because we couldn’t take everybody that wanted to go.”
Some popular places they visit are London, Paris, Switzerland, Rome and Florence.
“We try to stay with what we think is the most educational, interesting and rewarding places to visit,” Barnidge said. “Switzerland is one of the places that students like the most because some people like to see the snow because they have never seen snow in their life.”
One of the two-day destinations, Alsace, France, is the country of origin for some southern Louisiana citizens.
“The Himmels and Waguespacks are German names from France that came down to southern Louisiana to live,” Barnidge said. “It is like we are going home to our roots.”
Nicholls students can earn three to six hours in history credits through the program.
“If I am in a classroom telling students what Leonardo and Michelangelo did, it is different from me being in Florence showing students what they did,” Barnidge said. “Students come back with a new appreciation and attitude toward history.”
Some students went for college credit or because they had an interest in traveling the world outside of southern Louisiana.
“This is my second time,” Kyle Crosby, business management senior from Larose said. “I love traveling. It was easy to get around. Everything was taken care of for the trip.”
Some students went on the trip before they even started at Nicholls like Addie Himmel, business pre-law freshman from Thibodaux, who went after her senior year of high school.
“I never traveled far away from home besides the states,” Himmel said. “It was more educational than I thought it would be, but that is why I enjoyed it.”
Learning about history at the price of the trip may turn some people away, but previous students said it was worth it.
“It does not matter about the money because you get so much out of it,” Himmel said. “It is really worth it.”
Participants of the Nicholls Europe program, coordinated by James Barnidge, spent part of their summer experiencing Europe and earning college credit.
