Doctor Lends Perspective to Semester at Sea

Dr. Leigh Grossman, a professor of pediatric medicine and chief of the Pediatric Infectious Disease Division at the U.Va. School of Medicine, whose own international experience started when he father took a sabbatical to India when she was a child, recently led a U.Va. medical team on a 30-day leg on the Semester at Sea voyage.

While there, she offered the following three pieces of wise advice to the voyagers, which would probably apply to anyone studying or even just traveling overseas:

  • International education teaches new ways to learn and to live. Put away books, electronic devices and other barriers that insulate you from others and be open to experiencing differences.
  • Only in retrospect will you understand how this Semester at Sea education has impacted your life. For now, just know that it will have a profound effect.
  • Don’t be afraid to leave your comfort zone and experience differences in people, places and ideas. Walk the streets, talk to people, use all your senses, because it is only then that true learning will occur.
International, Medical School, People, Semester at Sea | Tuesday, March 16th | By: Dan @5:03 pm | 0 Comments     

mtvU, U.Va. and an Iranian Poet

I’ll admit that sometimes I’m a bit out of touch with popular culture, or at least youthful popular culture. So until this week, I did not know there was such thing as mtvU, which bills itself as “MTV Networks’ Peabody and Emmy Award-winning 24-hour college network-the largest and most comprehensive media network just for college students.”

Surprisingly, the person who called my attention to mtvU’s existence is Farzaneh Milani, a U.Va. professor who teaches in both Studies in Women and Gender and the Department of Middle Eastern and South Asian Languages and Culture.

Here’s how it all ties together …

Continue reading…

International, News, People, Semester at Sea, TV | Friday, October 30th | By: Dan @1:05 pm | 0 Comments