UW-Whitewater students to study in Hungary
Released: October 22, 2002
Five physical education students from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater will take part an international experience this fall at Semmelweis University in Budapest, Hungary.
Brenda Clayton, International Program Coordinator, will supervise the trip. It is the first exchange for the department of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Coaching (HPERC) at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater with a former Soviet-bloc Eastern European country.
Participating students are: Stephen Borgman, Oconomowoc; Shawn Burns, Waukesha; Chris Finkler, Wales; Kevin Kienzle, Oak Creek and Matt Werner, Walworth. All five of the students say the trip is a great opportunity to broaden their cultural background.
“I’ve always wanted to study abroad and this trip is a good opportunity to experience other cultures,” said Burns.
Semmelweis University Physical Education and Sport faculty member Jozsef Bognar will supervise the students during their time in Europe. Bognar is a Fulbright Scholar who studied at the University of Idaho in Moscow. While a Fulbright Scholar, Bognar also spent a year and a half as an instructor at UW-Whitewater, being mentored by Clayton.
During the first week of the 5-week trip, the students will visit different school sites throughout Budapest and then spend three weeks teaching in a secondary school. They will also have the opportunity to travel throughout Europe for one week.
“The students are responsible for this part of their trip. They can buy a Euro Pass or rent a car and visit six different countries in a short amount of time,” said Clayton.
Semmelweis University is an international school with students from all over the world. The university has one track of classes where the students are required to speak English. Close to 42 different countries will be represented at Semmelweis during the international experience.
“It is because of the nature of the university that they welcome us so much,” said Clayton. “[Semmelweis] hopes within the next couple of years that it will be possible to send a student here, but this is the first step in creating an exchange program.”
- Steve Garczynski ,npa@uww.edu
