Bulletin News

04/28/2010 

“What is different to me is normal to others, and the other way too,” says Raluca Balas, a Romanian student studying at SUNY Cortland for the semester, as she praises her cultural experiences here at the College.

“At first, I was a little nervous because I come from a large city, but there is always something to do here. Everyone is so nice to us, I definitely plan on keeping in touch with some of the people I have met.”

Eleanor Fitzgerald, left, and Kristen Dennison, both international studies majors at SUNY Cortland who were awarded Atlantis Mobility Project scholarships, prepare for class beneath a fountain in Avram Iancu Square in Cluj, Romania.

Balas, along with five other students, received the opportunity to participate in an exchange between the College and Babes-Bolyai University, thanks to a nearly $400,000 grant the U.S. government and the European Union (EU) awarded last fall to Cortland and a parallel project between SUNY Buffalo and Manchester Metropolitan University in Great Britain.

The Atlantis Mobility Project grant focuses on student mobility and exchange and was awarded by the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) to institutions across the U.S.

For the next four years, a total of 48 scholars will participate in the exchange between the partner institutions. The Atlantis Scholars are each supported by a $5,000 scholarship, which was awarded competitively.

“The idea of taking out an enormous loan seemed daunting for me,” says Kristen Dennison, of Victor, N.Y.

“The Atlantis grant made it possible for me to study abroad for a full semester,” said Dennison, who participated with her fellow American classmates, Breanne Driscoll and Eleanor Fitzgerald. All three are international studies majors.

“Without the scholarship, I wouldn’t be able to afford coming here,” agrees Balas. “I have been encouraging my friends in Romania to participate in the project.”

“I enjoy the most, not the classes, but exploring and traveling the country,” says Driscoll, who is from Olean, N.Y.  “I love to listen to my friends tell the stories their parents told them about living during the communist era.”

In addition to traveling and taking classes, the Cortland students have been interning with the Peace Action Training and Research Institute of Romania (PATRIR), a non-profit agency that promotes human rights and supports the development of local communities.

“Since I am an international studies major with a concentration in European studies, having the opportunity to study public policy in Romania was almost too good to be true,” says Dennison. “Having the added bonus of interning at a local peace organization has given us the ability to have an inside look into how a non-governmental organization functions.”

Balas and her fellow Romanian classmates, Georgiana Mihut and Stefana Ignea, studied political science at Cortland this semester.

“It has been a very fulfilling and exciting experience overall,” says Mihut, who is focusing on educational policy.

Three Romanian students studying at Cortland, shown lounging in front of Brockway Hall from the left, are Raluca Balas, Stefana Ignea and Georgiana Mihut. Atlantis Mobility Grant scholarships enabled their semester in the U.S.

The three students have adapted to life at Cortland, participating in the Speech and Debate Club, working at the Center for Gender and Intercultural Studies and playing intramural sports.

Balas recently won second place in Extemporaneous Debate at a competition at Rockland Community College.

“I’m not very athletic,” laughs Mihut, “but we joined a broomball team with some other international students. We never scored, but we had so much fun.”

For more information, contact Cortland Atlantis Mobility Project Director Henry Steck, a SUNY Distinguished Service Professor in the Political Science Department, at (607) 753-4807.