UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Groups of Penn State students creating documentary films, studying the ever-changing field of e-sports and video gaming, and working on timely stories about issues that impact the world will spend their spring breaks on location to do their work.
Three different groups from the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications are traveling to Croatia, the Netherlands and Turkey, with the groups traveling between Feb. 29 and March 10, a period that largely coincides with the University’s spring break.
They’re traveling as part of “embedded courses” that combine classroom work on the University Park campus with international experiences during the spring semester.
Croatia, telecommunications
“Many students can’t afford to or can’t work a whole semester abroad into their schedules, but even a week can be an important opportunity,” said Anne Hoag, an associate professor in the Department of Telecommunications who’s leading a group of students focused on e-sports and video gaming to Croatia. She has taken Penn State students abroad for more than a decade. “Our group includes some students who’ve never been out of the country, or just got their first passport. There are so many things they learn from these kinds of trips.”
The itinerary for the telecommunications students includes stops in Split, Verazdin and Zagreb as they focus on the overarching topics of international telecommunications and media law.
Hoag thinks Croatia provides an opportunity to understand how geography, politics and war shape a country over time. Along with meeting entrepreneurs and college students from the University of Zagreb, the schedule includes a visit to the American Embassy as well as museum visits and walking tours. She has been working on logistics for the tour, making connections and working to find ways to put students in a position to succeed since last August.
The trip just might not have a fully spring feel, with visits during the week taking the 11-person traveling party to the Croatia’s northern border near Hungarian as well as farther south along the Adriatic Sea.
Netherlands, documentary filmmaking
Fifteen students will travel with three faculty members as they focus on completing a handful of different films on a trip to Amsterdam.
Catie Grant, an assistant teaching professor in the Department of Film Production and Media Studies, organized the trip and selected Amsterdam for its storytelling possibilities. Students have embraced those many options during their preparation for the trip during the first portion of the spring semester. Planned documentaries include a focus on women’s standup comedians, jazz music and a family run watch store that has been operation for 79 years.
"The students have done a great job on preproduction, and we're locked in with most of the scheduling," Grant said. "Hopefully we're going to be able to hit the ground running when we get there."
Grant said the prevalence of English as a language helped her decide on the Netherlands as a location for the trip, simply because it will limit the need for translators.
Plus, traveling provides creative and logistical challenges for student filmmakers. While students will take most necessary equipment with them, they might not be able to take all the equipment they would like.
“We’ll be sharing some cameras as a group, so they’ll have to be smart about scheduling. A lot of groups want to use two cameras and, logistically, we might have to get creative,” said Grant, who appreciates the immersive nature of the trip — as well as the opportunities it will provide. “So many of sour student are involved in so many things on campus. In some ways this trip will be welcome for them to focus on just one thing, even if they’re outside their comfort zone.”
Turkey, international reporting
A dozen students and four faculty members will travel to Istanbul, Turkey, planning to report on issues in the country that have worldwide impact.
International Women’s Day (March 8) falls during their trip, Istanbul is on the verge of municipal elections and the country holds a vital role bordering on members of the European Union and striving to make an impact internationally.
Plus, it’s geographically located between Israel and Ukraine, which have been the focus of international news attention for months.
“It’s an important trip on many levels,” said Katie O’Toole, an assistant teaching professor in the Department of Journalism who has led international reporting trips before and participated in them as well. “This group has really embraced the opportunity and engaged to get to know what’s happening in Turkey to be as prepared as possible to get to work when they get there. They know they’re going there to work.”
In preparation for the trip, O’Toole, an assistant teaching professor of journalism, has helped students connect with experts on campus and with potential sources in Turkey.
Along with longer-form stories the students will complete upon their return to Penn State, they will share updates on social media during their trip. It’s part of the practical preparation the faculty members believe is important for aspiring journalists.
Mila Sanina, an assistant teaching professor of journalism, who will be joining O’Toole and two other faculty members on the trip, will be an integral part of the students’ success by brainstorming social media ideas and quick turnaround stories for TikTok and the web — and by helping students harness multimedia tools necessary for that work.
“It’s a chance for them to really learn how to be a producer of journalism on platforms they use every day,” Sanina said. “That does not come naturally. What’s great about traveling internationally is that students are plopped into a foreign country, and they might struggle, culturally and with day-to-day things, but they’ll get their work done and bond over those struggles. It can be a really meaningful experience.”