Students Experience Spain during Maymester 2019
This past spring, five professors took a group of 36 students and alumni on a week-long Maymester trip to Spain. The Maymester proved to be a rich and rewarding experience in a country with a long and varied history, strong culture, beautiful scenery and architecture, and world-class food and drink.
The experience followed a semester of research and study by the students and faculty. Students learned about Spain from its ancient and medieval beginnings through to its colonial and modern periods.
Read what two students had to say about their time in Spain.
“A breathtaking experience”
“A Maymester is a way for PC students to learn with their senses like I did when we traveled to Madrid, Toledo, Granada, Seville, and Barcelona.
It was a breathtaking experience to be able to sit in the classroom in February and then learn about the Visigoths and see the architecture in person a few months later. I was able to see things that I only dreamt of being able to see: Christopher Columbus’ grave, beautiful churches, and magnificent palaces.
The trip was not only about being able to see and touch history. It was about submerging yourself in another country’s culture.
Whether it was witnessing a subway strike in Barcelona or a wedding in Granada, the options were numerous in experiencing Spanish culture and enjoying the Spanish people. This was my first time being overseas, and I will say it was a lot different than the small town that I’m used to!”
Grayson Fallaw ’19
History and Christian Education double major
“One of my favorite memories”
“Being able to participate in a Maymester has become one of my favorite memories of PC. A Maymester gives students the opportunity to study a foreign country: first in the classroom and then by experiencing what you’ve learned about the country during a trip at the end of the year.
For this particular Maymester, I took the classes Ancient and Medieval Spain and Imperial Spain. I learned about things such as Roman Spain, the Catholic Monarchs and the times of Franco.
At the end of the year, my professors, fellow students, and I went to Spain and saw all the things that we had been learning about. It was truly a rewarding experience.
As a history major, I spend a lot of time with the students and professors in the department. It was refreshing to be able to spend time with them in a more relaxed setting and be able to form deeper relationships with these same people.
Studying abroad is the best way to be able to learn and experience a new culture in a fun and educational way. I’ll remember this trip and the experiences I had in Spain for forever! I can’t wait to go back!”
Samantha Fink ’20
History major
See For Yourself
Next spring break, the history and political science departments are taking students on a Civil Rights Tour through major sites of the Civil Rights era in the southern U.S. Please visit Student Opportunities & Resources for the rich and rewarding experiences that await you in the PC History Department.