Bellarmine Convert: A global brand?
Sarah Botha
Issue date: 10/21/09 Section: Entertainment
By Sarah Botha
In following with this edition of The Concord and its focus on bringing attention to Bellarmine students studying abroad, I've decided to pursue this idea of Bellarmine becoming a global brand and what this means for the students who both come here from other countries and those Bellarmine students who study abroad.
So one thing that most of my friends asked me when I told them where I was studying, "Why Kentucky?" Never mind my friends from back home asking this but even my friends here were puzzled as to why I would choose to study here. And in truth, other than visions of the old South with Scarlette O'Hara moments aplenty- I'm not entirely sure what drew me here. When I asked the other Internationals why they chose to come here they all had this to say; that they didn't. Yet Bellarmine boasts of having one of the highest rates of students studying abroad. So clearly there is something here in the environment that encourages an appreciation of other languages, cultures and values. I think that this attitude is so needed not only in America but in other places in the world too. Aside from challenging stereotypes like, " If you're from Africa, why are you white?", (yes this actually happened to me) or that there are Kangaroos and boomerangs in Austria. Through studying abroad comes the realization that the world is far bigger than television, books and media have led you to believe.
If you've been following the column, you'll remember how I discussed the t-shirt culture here at Bellarmine and in my mind this is a typical characteristic of what it is to be a Bellarmine student: One that is proud of their school and fully entrenched in its community.
So how does this translate into students studying abroad? Much like the first explorers discovering new lands and planting their countries flags on the new soil, I imagine that this accurately describes what it's like for a Bellarmine student discovering a new country and through the classic maroon sweatshirt, being able to hold onto their home identity. I was amused to see the Bellarmine sweatshirt modeled by Joey Keifer and Jacob Murphy back at my university: Rhodes University. You'd think they'd be wearing Rhodes sweatshirts by now! But perhaps this is my point that the Bellarmine community is expanding to include some remote areas like Ecuador, Morocco and Finland and perhaps becoming an empire?
In following with this edition of The Concord and its focus on bringing attention to Bellarmine students studying abroad, I've decided to pursue this idea of Bellarmine becoming a global brand and what this means for the students who both come here from other countries and those Bellarmine students who study abroad.
So one thing that most of my friends asked me when I told them where I was studying, "Why Kentucky?" Never mind my friends from back home asking this but even my friends here were puzzled as to why I would choose to study here. And in truth, other than visions of the old South with Scarlette O'Hara moments aplenty- I'm not entirely sure what drew me here. When I asked the other Internationals why they chose to come here they all had this to say; that they didn't. Yet Bellarmine boasts of having one of the highest rates of students studying abroad. So clearly there is something here in the environment that encourages an appreciation of other languages, cultures and values. I think that this attitude is so needed not only in America but in other places in the world too. Aside from challenging stereotypes like, " If you're from Africa, why are you white?", (yes this actually happened to me) or that there are Kangaroos and boomerangs in Austria. Through studying abroad comes the realization that the world is far bigger than television, books and media have led you to believe.
If you've been following the column, you'll remember how I discussed the t-shirt culture here at Bellarmine and in my mind this is a typical characteristic of what it is to be a Bellarmine student: One that is proud of their school and fully entrenched in its community.
So how does this translate into students studying abroad? Much like the first explorers discovering new lands and planting their countries flags on the new soil, I imagine that this accurately describes what it's like for a Bellarmine student discovering a new country and through the classic maroon sweatshirt, being able to hold onto their home identity. I was amused to see the Bellarmine sweatshirt modeled by Joey Keifer and Jacob Murphy back at my university: Rhodes University. You'd think they'd be wearing Rhodes sweatshirts by now! But perhaps this is my point that the Bellarmine community is expanding to include some remote areas like Ecuador, Morocco and Finland and perhaps becoming an empire?
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