Emmanuel and Claire are two of fifteen students participating in the EcoLeague exchange program this fall. A consortium of six different liberal arts colleges across the country, the EcoLeague allows students to shift their studies to another school for a semester or two during their undergraduate career. Located in different bioregions and with unique campus cultures, each EcoLeague college remains connected to the others by core values of environmental awareness, social change, and sustainability. While exploring new ecosystems, new communities, and new academic courses, the EcoLeague student is challenged to develop skills and perspectives that will not only enrich their education but also prepare them for life after college.
āCOA offers more āsite specificā courses,ā she says. One class that drew Claire to the college is āThe History of Apples.ā In this course she and her classmates learn how to identify apples of the region and study the importance of preserving seedling variety. Claire dreams of one day owning her own orchard, so āThe History of Applesā is especially relevant to her future aspirations. Additionally, at COA, Claire is able to work on anthropologic research methods, which she plans to use for a capstone project at Dickinson. Aside from the academics, another highlight of the EcoLeague experience for Claire has been living in a new setting. Though a bit chilly, she likes swimming in the Atlantic Ocean and hiking in the mountains of Acadia National Park.
Emmanuel Greeno is developing a deeper appreciation for his home of COA while studying in Arizona this semester. āI like the academics and the people here, but I really love my āhomeā school even more now,ā says Greeno of his experience at Prescott College. Also a junior, Emmanuel is on track to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Human Ecology, the self-directed, interdisciplinary degree that is COAās trademark. Although immersing himself in a new community has been a high point for Emmanuel, it has also been a challenge. Prescott conducts most of its classes in the field and the majority of its students live off-campus, a sharp contrast to COAās island location where most undergraduates are in close proximity to one another. At his home school of roughly 350 students, the community is very tight-knit, something he misses at Prescott. One place he notices this difference is in Prescottās dining cafĆ©s, which are set-up restaurant style. Emmanuel describes eating as a āhuman ritualā and misses the cafeteria at COA, which is not only a place to eat, but also a place to ātake a breakā and connect with others.