A select group of Lee University students has departed for the annual United Kingdom Semester Study Abroad trip. Twenty students from a broad variety of disciplines hugged family and friends good-bye as they huddled in the 40-degree, rainy weather. Despite the unfavorable conditions, all seemed excited for the upcoming 10 weeks abroad.

The study-abroad program offers participants the unique opportunity to earn 15 credit hours while immersed in the historical city of Cambridge. The group will also visit celebrated sites across the United Kingdom such as Stonehenge, London, the Lakes District, Bath, Durham and Edinburgh, Scotland. 

During spring break, another side excursion includes independent travel through Ireland. 

While in Cambridge, students complete courses in British History, Literature and Politics, as well as a C.S. Lewis class, all taught by some of Lee’s top-tier professors through a specially-designed online program. Participants not only learn about influential writers, but they merge their in-class studies with first-hand experience including knowledgeable guest lecturers who meet with them at historic sites like Shakespeare’s Stratford home, Wordsworth’s home in the Lakes District, and C.S. Lewis’s Oxford residence. 

The trip culminates with a two-week, independently-arranged backpack tour across Europe. Students have the opportunity to arrange their own itineraries and travel accommodations to European cities like Paris, Prague, Barcelona, Venice, and Rome.

This year’s trip leader is Dr. Kevin Brown, a professor of English in Lee University’s Department of Language and Literature. The 2013 UK Semester participants are Kelsy Black of Franklin, Tn.; Rachel Delvaux of Franklin, Tn.; Liz Fehr of Knoxville; Katelyn Foust of Maylene, Ala.; Katie Freeman of Arden, N.C.; Jill Gibson of Cleveland; Madeline Goza of Ooltewah; McKenzie Hungate of Hoschton, Ga.; Ivey Lawrence of Charlotte, N.C.; Rachel Lesler of Knoxville; Peri McIntosh of Chattanooga; Cloe McMasters of Salisbury, N.C..; Kate O’Briant of Knoxville; Matt Orsag of Highland, Ind.; Loren Otten of Dublin, Ga.; Ashley Scheiderer of Fort Wayne, Ind.; Amanda Teague of Cleveland; Kristen Ton of Franklin, Tn.; Sydney Underwood of Shallotte, N.C.; and Kathleen Woodall of Winter Springs, Fla.

For more information about Lee’s Global Perspectives program, visit http://leeuniversity.edu/global/ or call 614-8357.