Surrounded by sparkling Mediterranean waters, the island nation of Cyprus is a rich site of cultural, historical, and ecological history spanning more than 11,000 years. One Cypriot native and professor emeritus with the Department of Geography, Stavros Constantinou, has been sharing the singular beauty of Cyprus with the Ohio State community since 2018.
Constantinou collaborates with Dianne Morrison-Beedy from the College of Nursing to offer the Sustainability in Cyprus: Health & Well-being, the Environment and Society global education program, now accepting applications for 2024.
“I get fired up sharing the place I grew up with students who will remember it all of their lives,” said Constantinou. Students in this engaging program have opportunities to see places that have given rise to some of the most significant developments in Western culture from antiquity through modernity. “Pafos is where Saint Paul preached. Here you walk where apostles walked,” explained Constantinou. “You get to put your life in some kind of perspective.”
“Having our professor be a native to Cyprus really made the abroad experience more fun and memorable,” shared Mikayla Loomis, a sophomore studying Spanish and Marketing. “I didn’t just want to read about or watch a video on other places, I wanted to learn in person. I gained a way better global perspective – it does so much more than reading a textbook or watching a documentary.”
“From trekking the Troodos Mountains, to eating dinner along the UN Buffer Zone and endless karaoke nights, the beautiful island of Cyprus treated us Buckeyes very well,” said Kristen Im, a senior pursuing a degree in International Studies and Geography. “My favorite moment of the trip was our weekend-long visit to Nicosia. The capital of the beautiful island is at the crossroads of historical preservation and a bustling urban life.”
In addition to Nicosia, students in the program visit such distinctive locales as Pafos Archaeological Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and Aphrodite’s Rock, the legendary birthplace of the Goddess Aphrodite throughout an action-packed month of exploration with a sustainability focus. The content focuses on the broad range of sustainability challenges that face the EU, using the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as a unifying theme. Through structured educational experiences, students learn how Cyprus, the easternmost member of the EU and the Eurozone, provides a case study for sustainability.
When they aren’t visiting famous sites, they find time to slow down and enjoy some of the things that make life in Cyprus special. “Our free time in between our museum visits was filled with shopping, petting stray cats, and indulging in some gelato,” said Im.
Admitted participants can take one of two courses, Nursing 3798 or Geography 3755, during a four-week stay at Neapolis University Pafos in Cyprus in May 2024. Constantinou teaches The Geography of the European Union and the Challenges of Sustainability and Morrison-Beed leads the Nursing Study Tour of Cyprus. Students in both classes participated actively in common structured educational experiences. Both courses fulfill a GE High Impact Practice theme requirement (Nursing – Health and Well-being Theme, Geography – Sustainability Theme). Interested students are invited to set up a one-on-one appointment with a member of the global education team and learn how to begin their application process.