A group of University of Nevada, Reno students who studied in Alicante, Spain during the fall semester as part of the University Studies Abroad Consortium (USAC) kept busy, whether it was in the classroom or participating in a multitude of out-of-class activities.
Thomas Crowther, Amber Davis, Anthony Gallian, Shane Vre Non, Stephanie Payne, Carolyn LaBuda and Megan Esquivel not only spent their time in numerous courses ranging from Intermediate to Advanced Spanish, Economic and Political Institutions of the European Union, Spanish Composition and 20th Century Contemporary Spanish Short Story, they also found room in their schedule to participate on the USAC soccer team and to tutor Spanish children in English.
An interesting sidelight to the fall semester was time spent on the airwaves. Crowther, along with USAC students from other institutions, was featured one morning on the popular Spanish radio station, “Cadena Ser.” Esquivel, meanwhile, played volleyball at the university level for the University of Alicante volleyball team.
Luis Fernandez, resident director of the Alicante Program, said the busy fall semester schedule has always been part of the study abroad experience, though the fall featured more programming and activities than ever before.
“This year we included more activities than ever in our program,” Fernandez said. “Many were short field trips to nearby places such as Playa San Juan, the market, and boat rides to Tabarka Island. In September and October there was always a weekend activity organized by USAC/UNR. Other activities were related to sports. We have a soccer game once a week, and we also organized a tennis tournament for our students and we also have a USAC basketball team.”
Fernandez said Crowther spoke well of his experience with USAC during his radio interview.
“I was happy to hear how much they valued all the activities we organized for them,” Fernandez said. “They really liked the city, but even more the campus and all its activities.”
