The Adobe Flash Player is required to view this multimedia interactive. Get it here.

Hamilton students part of new international study program

Harry T. Wilks sponsors the trip, scheduled for June in Italy.

Out-of-state shoppers arrested in clothing theft
10:14 a.m.
Fairfield gas station robbed at gun point
10:02 a.m.
AK reassigns five execs
8:56 a.m.
Ohio education reform plan stalls
5/25/12
Male teachers are rare in elementaries
5/25/12
> More headlines

12:06 AM Monday, February 6, 2012

By Richard O Jones

Staff Writer

HAMILTON — Ten Hamilton High School students have been selected to take a trip to Italy this summer as part of a new international study program sponsored by Harry T. Wilks.

“I plan on allowing Italy to take over my mind and thinking so I can see what it’s like to live in Italy and welcome all it has to offer for me to explore and gain new perspectives on various topics and cultural views,” said Jenna Davidson, a student in the HHS Teacher Academy.

The program came about through Wilks’ relationship with Villa Vergiliana, a three-story villa situated at the northwestern corner of the Bay of Naples in the village of Cumae, operated by the Vergilian Society and contains the Harry T. Wilks Study Center.

The June 1-10 trip will also include a short stay in Rome.

“Naples is in a good place because it is centrally located to many ruins and museums and other sites of interest,” Wilks said. “So the students will be able to take a day trip and then come back to the villa for lectures after seeing the sites.

“It’s not a vacation, but an introduction to foreign travel,” he said.

In addition to financial support for the trip from Wilks and the Hamilton High Boosters, the students are also expected to contribute $1,000 to the cost of the trip, Wilks said.

Interested students went through a rigorous application process that included recommendations from teachers and a community member, evaluation of discipline and attendance records, an interview and an essay on how the trip to Italy would enhance future educational goals.

In addition to Davidson, the students selected for the trip include Jared Calihan, Siana Cecere, Samantha Combs, Albion Dean, Chad McClain, Shelby McClure, Heather Sharp, Cheyenne Shepherd and Corey Vernot.

They will be required to create a resource such as a blog, a Power Point presentation or a video to share their experience with fellow students and the Hamilton community, said Keith Millard, director of secondary education.

Wilks said that he hopes this trip will be the first of many for area students to study abroad.

“Eventually, I hope to expand it to the rest of the county and the state,” he said. “It’s a program that will affect more and more people as the years go by.”

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2188 or rjones@coxohio.com.

Share this article