The Nicholls Honors Abroad Program took its yearly credit-based trip to England, which included visits to London and Plymouth, from May 10 to June 12 to reward students in the honors program. Students who attended were required to be enrolled in honors courses, have at least six hours of honors credit and be a sophomore; however, the requirements will be changing and details will soon be worked out, Martin Simpson, professor of history and social sciences and coordinator of Nicholls Honors Abroad Program, said.
The trip costs $500, excluding personal expenses for food and other items. Other expenses are paid for by private donations, and transportation and admission into certain events is paid for by the program, said Simpson.
The students who attended the honors trip included Marie Ammann, government junior from Waggaman, Angele LeBoeuf, sociology junior from Raceland, Elizabeth Sanders, English senior from Gonzales, and Valeriia Zasiedatielieva, multinational business administration junior from Ukraine.
Some of the leisure activities students participated in included attending the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, visiting the British Museum, visiting the Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square, participating as crowd members in a performance of Shakespeare’s Coriolanus at the Globe Theatre and shopping at the Portobello Street market. The students also saw Westminster Cathedral, the Houses of Parliament, the Tower of London, the National Portrait Gallery and the Sherlock Holmes museum.
“It is difficult to choose a particular experience that was the most exhilarating. All of them were very diverse, but it was the combination of them that made the Honors Program Abroad extraordinary for me,” Zastiedatielieva said.
The students stayed at residence halls at the University of Plymouth where they took a credit-based comparative government course taught by Henry Lafont, professor of history and social sciences, which compared the legal and law enforcement systems of England and the United States. In-class discussions were held by Kevin Meethan of the University of Plymouth on relations between England and the European Union. Chris Hall, a practicing barrister (English lawyer who specializes in arguing in court), lectured on English law and the legal profession, and Police Constable Laity of the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary held discussion on English police training and procedure.
Because the trip lasted 33 days, students had some free time to immerse in Plymouth and meet local people with whom they developed relationships, LeBoeuf said.
Lafont organized a “bayou-style” shrimp boil as a parting gesture to the local people of Plymouth who welcomed the group members, which was thoroughly enjoyed, according to Simpson.
LeBoeuf said she would recommend the trip to others.
“It was a life-changing experience,” LeBoeuf said. “I would encourage anyone eligible to take this truly incredible trip.
