I arrived at the airport four times on Sunday. Starting as early as 5 am, our Dublin City University International Summer School (DCUISS) students began landing in what will be their home for the next month. Despite the early hours and constant movement, I was continually energized by the enthusiasm shown by understandable jet lagged students.
For the next month these students will be with us living and studying at Dublin City University. They are at the beginning of an amazing journey that holds opportunities for personal growth in addition to academic credits. Doubtless, there will be a variety of challenges for each student along the way. My job, then, is not to clear the students’ paths of obstacles but rather to guide them in managing, surviving, and thriving in a new culture and place. This is the kind of education that I love to be a part of!
Our first day together was certainly a full one. After an extensive program orientation, we headed into the city centre together to take part in the Dublin City Scramble. This amazing race-style challenge sent small groups of students all around the city to complete a variety of challenges ranging from “Do a jig by THE Temple Bar” to “Find some free samples of Murphy’s Ice Cream”. The many kilometers walked helped us to fight through jet lag and a good time was had by all!
This promises to be a very impactful summer for me and for our students. Working directly with young people is a real inspiring thing for me; I get so much energy from being around students. Here’s to a warm, interesting, adventurous summer together in Ireland!
-Dave
