GC Hardwick Visits State House in Montpelier, VT

Global Campus Hardwick organized a trip to Montpelier to tour the Statehouse and the Vermont History museum this spring.

Global Campus Hardwick planned a fun, interactive day in Montpelier learning about our state government and history. We gathered on the statehouse steps for lunch and to gather our thoughts before entering into the busy statehouse. The statehouse is quite hectic over the lunch hour and it was neat to see so many people bustling around with clipboards and getting ready for meetings. We met a guide, who walked us through the history of the building and showed us the Senate, House and other important rooms.

We learned that the VT statehouse is the oldest statehouse in the US. The architecture has been preserved inside so that it still looks the way it always has. The carpets have been redone, but the other building structures are the original architecture. Our guide noted that the chandelier in the Senate room was not typical for VT style; all the images on the chandelier have to do with the ocean, including Titan, dolphins, waves and sea creatures. He wondered if there had been a sale on chandeliers…

We learned about the structure of the senate, who sits where, and where the public is allowed to sit. Although the roof looks like it was under the dome, it is only made to look round. The dome is over the center of the building. Debbie told the group that her grandfather had been a part of the crew who worked on the construction of the dome. She was very proud. Next, we moved to the House, a much larger room. We noted that the Green Mountain Boys flag, which Diane had taught us about earlier this term, was flying over some of the desks in the room. It was neat to see all the papers lying about and a PowerPoint presentation on the screen.

We left the statehouse and walked next-door to the Vermont History Museum. We spent some time in a room full of Civil War artifacts. Our guide asked us to each pick an item that we found particularly intriguing, and then share with the group what we found interesting about this object. Annie picked a quilt, which had embroidered bible phrases on the squares. Our guide told us that women quilted hand-made quilts for the soldiers so that they would be warm and feel close to home while they were fighting. We also looked at a grey coat – the coat of the Confederate Soldiers. We learned that a Vermonter had taken the coat from a dead Confederate soldier and brought it back to VT. We saw a leather shoe with a piece of shrapnel shot into the bottom of the shoe. We could only imagine how painful that injury must have been.

We made our way to a milk room and then to a video of the 1927 flood. We learned that in 1927, VT got over 12 inches of rain, which is equivalent to twelve feet of snow. On our way out of town, we stopped to look at the lampposts, which have a red line marking the high water mark of 1927. It was WAY over our heads. And the most interesting part was this storm was in November.

Dynamic Course Offerings at GC Moretown!

Participants at GC Moretown are wrapping up their course offerings for the Spring Term and wanted to take a moment to look back and reflect on all the great classes over the last several months. Congratulations to all participants for making your campus such a success this semester! We'll be celebrating next week with a certificate day celebration and barbecue, join us!

Grace, "Chile", GC Moretown Spring 2011

Neil, "Working at a Hardware Store", GC Moretown Spring 2011

Robert, "My Life Story", GC Moretown Spring 2011

GC Bradford Participants Celebrate Succesful Semester!

Teaching Faculty, Student Participants, Resource Persons, and Campus Supporters gathered this afternoon to celebrate the completion of a dynamic teaching term at Global Campus Bradford. Participants were honored with certificates. Check out some of our classes from this semester!

Scott, "Trains", GC Bradford Spring Term 2011

Valorie, "MikMaq Nation", GC Bradford Spring Term 2011

GC Randolph Greens Up Randolph and then Celebrates!

Participants at Global Campus Randolph gathered at Pleasant Street House to celebrate another dynamic semester at their campus! The afternoon began with a picnic lunch in the sun followed by a class by Joe, Kim and Cheryl. They led us through their neighborhood picking up trash and enjoying the warm weather. Joe, Kim and Cheryl walk regularly in the warm months and always pick up along the way! After their class we congratulated each other on our great classes and accomplishments this term. Participants were honored with certificates and applause! Congratulations to all on your hard work!

Global Campus Springfield Helps the Victims of the Japan Tsunami

For one of its Community Service Projects this term, Global Campus Springfield made a pledge to make and sell fudge to benefit the tsunami victims in Japan. Everyone worked very hard and we raised over $250.00. The money raised was sent to Mercy Corps, a charity chosen because of its reputation for serving under served populations around the world. Great job people!

By Hudson Lamb, GC Springfield Participant

Global Campus Participants Invited to Present at the University of Vermont

On Tuesday April 12th, Global Campus Participants responded to a teaching invitation by traveling to the University of Vermont to present about their Global Campuses at a graduate class entitled, "The Culture of Disability", taught by Professor Deborah Lisi-Baker. Scott and Shawn from GC Bradford, Grace from GC Moretown, and Hudson from GC Springfield all spoke about the classes they have taught and how Global Campus has affected their lives in a positive way. Hudson shared how teaching has given him a new light, passion and direction in life. He also spoke about the importance of inclusion, especially for children, which resonated strongly with students in the class and what they have been studying. Shawn shared about the new relationships and friendships she has developed. All the participants spoke about the challenges of teaching as well as the great rewards. Many of the students could relate to the participants teaching struggles, such as gathering materials together and doing research.

The students in the class were quite impressed by the presenters and had many questions. In response to one of the student's questions, each presenter shared a snapshot of one of their classes. Shawn passed around her scrap books from her class on her life story and shared a few of her favorite memories. Hudson presented some of his powerful poetry. Scott shared a few artifacts from his upcoming class on Romania, Bulgaria and Tranyslvania, inspired by his fathers ancestry. Grace spoke about her class on Broadway Musicals that is coming up in a few weeks.

Professor Deborah Lisi-Baker and the Global Campus Participants were very excited at the prospect of future opportunities and collaboration! Congratulations to all the presenters!

Global Campuses Foundation Releases New Video!

Global Campuses Foundation is pleased to present a short DVD production produced by Lincoln Street Inc. highlighting the dynamic experiences of participants at Global Campus Springfield. Lincoln Street is one of GCF’s partnering human service agencies in Vermont, USA. Global Campus Springfield was developed and is administered by individuals who receive a variety of services from Lincoln Street. We are very pleased that this agency felt so impressed by the Global Campus Experience that they wanted to share about Global Campus Springfield with the larger community through this production. Please enjoy this window into another vibrant Global Campus. Global Campuses Foundation would like to thank everyone at Lincoln Street Inc. for your continued positive participation with Global Campus Springfield.

Please CLICK HERE to watch the video!

GC Moretown Supports Haiti Reconstruction

Participants at Global Campus Moretown donated over $2000 to support immediate relief efforts in Haiti last winter after the earthquake devastated the small island nation. This year they did it again! Participants organized a benefit event and raised over $1000 and collected clothing and supplies to send down with Mary Jane, a Resource Person at GC Moretown, who traveled to Haiti with a local aid group based in Waitsfield called AMURTEL. Mary Jane then returned a few weeks later to give a presentation at our campus, sharing her stories and experiences in Haiti and telling us how our donations were used! Congratulations and thank you to everyone who participated in the project!

Campus to Campus Connections Conference with the Hale Street Gang

Global Campus participants from all corners of Vermont gathered at Chandler Music Hall in Randolph, VT on March 23rd for an all day Campus to Campus Connections Conference. As participants arrived they had the opportunity to browse the downstairs exhibit of the Hale Street Gang, a group of local seniors who get together each week to write down and share their life stories. The exhibit features life size black and white photographs of the seniors in the Hale Street Gang, as well as audio recordings of their stories and displays featuring their memoirs and books.

After browsing the gallery everyone gathered upstairs to hear members of the Hale Street Gang read excerpts from their memoirs and collections of stories. We were all captivated by the humorous and touching tales, some from long ago, some more recent. Dorcas Wright, a resource person for Global Campus Randolph and member of the Hale Street Gang, mentioned how touched she was to see her two passions in life coming together to meet and share each others life experiences. After a short refreshment break, Global Campus participants shared about their campuses, classes they are teaching, and stories about their own lives. Many folks also shared artwork. What a great collaboration!

In the afternoon, campus participants gathered at the Red Schoolhouse at Vermont Technical College to have lunch together. After eating, participants broke into groups with each group working together to create a fictional story based on a set of cards that sketched out the scene of a potential story. There were many laughs as we all shared our stories! The afternoon came to a close by sharing news from the various campuses and sharing a few new stories from participants who didn't have a chance to speak during the morning.

This conference was such a great success, thank you to everyone who participated!

Thailand Campuses Update

Thai Site Visit


Greetings from Chiang Mai, Thailand! It is a great honor to be visiting Global Campus Southeast Asia and some of the participants from Global Campus Chiang Mai, Global Campus San Sai and Global Campus Nan.

English Class was my first introduction to the campus. The campus meets in a house in Chiang Mai and participants sit in a circle with notebooks and looking at a white board. Around the campus I can see framed Certificates, campus flags and photographs of the campus' achievements.. The group meets weekly to practice English and is led by one of the Global Campus participants, who is fluent in English. We began class by reading some of the letters sent to Thailand by Global Campus Randolph. The class was working on their responses to these letters and asked for my help in proofreading and editing. Global Campus Randolph can look forward to letters coming soon –the letters will include pictures of GC Chiang Mai participants.

After working on the letters, I asked the group to share a bit about their interests – in English, of course! We practiced saying the phrase, "I am interested in…" and then went over some vocabulary words as they came up in discussion. The group has a diverse set of interests including farming, reading, bicycling, making jewelry, and cooking. After class, the group orders lunch together – take out from a food stall down the road. We sat around an outside table eating foods such as Pad Thai – fried noodles with egg and chili, Kao Klog Ka Pre – rice with shrimp paste, Hao Tom Ba – fish soup, or Pat See You – fried noodles with soy sauce. The noodle dishes are served with packets of chili and sugar to add more flavor to the dishes. Everything is delicious!

Many of the Global Campus Chiang Mai and San Sai participants do not come to the campus every week. In some cases, it is difficult for people to get out of their house or find transportation to the campus. To make sure all participants feel included, the group has set up a home-visit program. We spent a full day visiting participants in their homes and encouraging them to get out of the house and into the community. Ka, GCF's Regional Director in Southeast Asia, spoke with the participants about how to advocate for themselves. Many were worried that they would be a burden to their families if they went into the community, as they would have to ask others for help. Ka brought with her an informational video about how to improve accessibility in the home and the community.

On Sundays, the city of Chiang Mai is famous for its Night Market. Non, the Director of Global Campus Chiang Mai, took me to the market to walk around and explore Thai culture. The market has a section devoted specifically for people with disabilities to sell handicrafts and many of the campus participants have set up booths. Many of the GC Chiang Mai participants spend a lot of time at a place called, The House of Potentiality, which is a cooperative craft facility for people with disabilities to use. They have learned to make jewelry, metal work, leatherwork and recently soap. A few of the participants the crafts at the night market to make some extra money. I watched Khun Oo, one of the GC Chiang Mai participants make jewelry at the market. Using copper wire and beads she curls the wire around pliers to make little loops and then adds beads. Her handiwork is beautiful and very unique.

The campus has many events planned while I'm here in Thailand. It is fun to meet the campus participants and learn about Thai culture and disability culture. Every day I learn something new! Best wishes to the GCF community and I look forward to telling more stories when I return.

Amy Miller
Academic Coordinator
Global Campuses Foundation