Part of the life of a university professor is the opportunity, though infrequent, to travel around the world for the university or to recharge and learn in one’s field. Like professors at other universities, many Trinity professors have had this opportunity and have learned several useful lessons in their travels.

Lawrence Kim, associate professor of classical studies, traveled to Germany last year to study how the ancient Greeks viewed their own past. He went with the Humboldt Society, which receives money from the German government for scholars to use their facilities as well as send them to use facilities in other places.

“It’s a really great program because it brings people from all over the world, and you get to live in Germany for a year and you get to experience the culture as well as form productive relationships with faculty abroad,” Kim said.

Kim also noted that the relationships he formed can be carried on and used to grow his knowledge and resources in his field, which he can then bring into his classroom.

Rosana Blanco-Cano, assistant professor of Spanish, went on sabbatical to Mexico, where she studied how gender is portrayed in media, specifically television, in Mexico. This was a positive experience for her and she believes that it will help her in the classroom as well. Her sabbatical involved two separate 12-day stays rather than a single long-term stay.

“My sabbatical was very inspirational. I was not only able to produce a couple of research articles, but also to consider excellent materials for my classes that will enable my students to further understand contemporary cultural and social phenomena,” Blanco-Cano said.

Sira Schulz, a lecturer in the classical studies department, traveled to Germany and went to several other locations to study her field. This experience impacted the way she viewed classical mythology as a whole; in her time there, she explored many of the places written about by the ancient Greeks.

“I enjoyed traveling to Greece, Athens and Delphi more specifically””a wonderful experience which really brought home to me how many Greek myths are shaped by the distinctive Greek landscape they are set in,” Schulz said.