 |
Elanya Chin '13 and Devon Maust '12 with Jorgito. "We nicknamed him El Tigre because he loved to play,"
says Chin. |
 |
|
A perrico (parrot) perches on Chin's hand. |
3/14/12
“From the moment I turned onto Henry Street, I knew that R-MC was unlike any of the other colleges I had visited,” says Randolph-Macon College student
Elanya Chin ’13. Chin had applied to 12 colleges, but once the Morristown, New Jersey native touched down in Ashland, the search was over.
“The beautiful brick buildings, the friendly admissions staff…I felt completely at home here,” she says.
Chin, a
philosophy and
international studies major and an
ethics minor, is a traveler at heart. She has participated in two January Term (
J-term) trips, both led by
Sociology Professor Beth Gill. J-term affords students the opportunity to travel abroad and immerse themselves in another culture. Students can also participate in an internship or take an on-campus course.
In 2011, Chin enrolled in Remembering the Holocaust: Past, Present and Future.
“We started in Berlin and then visited Warsaw and Krakow,” says Chin, “and we ended the trip with a visit to Prague. It was my first trip to Europe and I was completely blown away by how much we experienced in two weeks. In addition to museum visits and city tours, we walked through the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps. Although it may seem like a depressing trip, Professor Gill did a magnificent job of making sure there was a balance of memorialization and exploration.”
In 2012, Chin packed her bags again—this time for
El Salvador. The J-term
service-learning course, Human Rights in the Global Village, was arranged in conjunction with the Habitat for Humanity Global Village Program.
“It was one of the most incredible experiences of my life,” says Chin. “In addition to reveling in summer temperatures, we had the privilege of building a house for a Salvadoran family.” Chin reflected on the trip’s significance in a
blog entry posted on the R-MC Web site.
“As much as I appreciate living in my comfortable room back home with hot water and an abundance of food, I know that is not a life most of the world knows,” she wrote. “Being here is probably the best thing that ever happened to me. Working with
Habitat for Humanity has been a gift for all of us.”
Back in Ashland, Chin rarely sits still. She is a Campus Ambassador, a Yellow Jacket Tour Guide, and the executive director of
Macon a Difference Day. She is also a peer mentor, a
Writing Center tutor and a proud member of
Kappa Alpha Theta.
Not surprisingly, Chin’s post-R-MC plans will broaden her horizons even further.
“I would love to teach English in Latin America before moving on to graduate school or a career,” she says. “Whatever I end up doing, I know that it will involve travel, because that is my biggest passion.”
Click on Student Experience to read more stories.