Student trips affected by COVID-19
Reported by Marlee Baker
Art by Carla Cieza Espinoza
Newberg, Ore. - On Feb. 29, International Studies Abroad (ISA) sent out an email to all the George Fox University (GFU) students studying in Rome requesting their immediate return to the United States. The email was sent around 3:30 a.m., just hours after the U.S. Center for Disease and Control had updated Italy to a level three travel advisory amid the outbreak and spread of COVID-19, or the Coronavirus.
By March 4, students from Italy had boarded planes for home. The decision, though unfortunate, proved timely, as Italy announced a nationwide lockdown on March 9.
“My first response to the news was shock – just a feeling of complete emotional emptiness,” junior Emma Hodges said, recalling the morning the news of their early departure was shared. “Over the next couple of days (my last days in Rome), I experienced all the stages of grief – shock, denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and eventually a sad sort of acceptance. I cried a lot. In public, too. It wasn’t very dignified.”
Just a few months prior, Hodges had arrived in Rome eager to settle into her new home. She explained how she most enjoyed encountering the daily, ordinary moments of life in Rome.
“I was so excited to really live in Rome – to experience the public transportation, the restaurants, the history, the art, the nightlife, the cappuccinos . . . all of it,” Hodges said. “And the areas of need, where we’d have the opportunity to share Jesus’ love.”
Several of the programs GFU partners with to send students abroad have decided to cancel all remaining classes. Two students in Italy have been forced to return to the United States. Meanwhile, the program in South Korea decided to cancel their classes before the semester could even begin, affecting one student. Then, on March 11, a student studying in Spain was notified that her program was scheduled to close as well.
Credits are being offered in part by the university as well as the study abroad programs in order to ensure students remain on track for graduation. Because each student’s situation is unique, this help is dependent on how far along each student was in their program. Students will also be receiving refunds for all remaining room and board fees.
Juniors Abroad is another international opportunity that is being impacted by COVID-19. On March 12, an email from Paul Chamberlain, the Director of the Center for Study Abroad, announced the cancellation of this semester’s Tent City. Then, that same day, President Trump declared a travel ban on all Americans from traveling to Europe, effectively cancelling all the Juniors Abroad trips.
“It’s heartbreaking to not be able to give [the students] this amazing experience,” said Lynn Scott, the assistant director of the Center for Study Abroad. “As a university, we are trying everything in our power to make sure every student will have some opportunity to travel abroad through George Fox.”
Full refunds for the affected 2020 Juniors Abroad trips will be offered by the university until March 20 if students choose to drop out. Other changes to the remaining study abroad programs will be made as new situations warrant.
During Hodges’ last day in Rome, she stopped by the Chiesa di Santa Maria dell-Orto, the first church she toured when she arrived in the city. “Visiting it on my last day with my roommate was a beautiful way of ‘completing the circle’ -- of ending where we'd begun,” she said.
After a dinner with members of her church community at All Saints Anglican, Hodges returned home to a surprise party -- the day of her scheduled departure falling on the same day as her 21st birthday. Overall, she recalled it being “a day full of some of my favorite things about Rome: beautiful art, sacred spaces, yummy food, and cherished friends.”