Program Description - Ellen C. Long Intercultural Study Abroad (ELISA)

ELISA Scholars

Trip Descriptions

• ELISA in Germany 2006
• ELISA in France 2005
• ELISA in Costa Rica 2005

ELISA Classroom at Universidad San Judas Tadeo

ELISA Guest Lecturer Froilán Escobar

ELISA PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Ellen C. Long Intercultural Study Abroad (ELISA)

Named in honor of the late Ellen C. Long who demonstrated a life-long commitment to building bridges among cultures and peoples through her dedication, sensitivity to and appreciation of different languages and cultures.

Program Definition

ELISA is a fully-funded summer home stay program of language immersion and cultural enrichment offered to qualified Western Reserve Academy students.  The program is intended for sophomore students who have successfully completed a second year of language study and who have best exemplified the spirit of Ellen C. Long through their performance, effort and keen interest in the language and culture.

Academic Component and Expectations

Classes are prepared by the host school for only ELISA students, with WRA's foreign language program as their guidepost.  Students are expected to be completely immersed in the language and culture of the country they visit.

Duration of Program

Approximately four weeks, including travel.

Selection Process

Only those students who have shown a strong interest (beyond the classroom) in the culture, the people and the language and who have manifested the ELISA spirit are personally invited to apply and complete the application process if they wish to be a candidate. 

The ELISA Committee is made up by a faculty member from each modern languages area and an administrator. The committee takes into consideration the application forms, essays, and recommendations by teacher, dorm master or community member, and advisor.  The dean of students and the Health Center are also consulted once all application forms are submitted.  Students go through a rigorous interview (20-30 minutes), during which they are asked questions and presented with situations by each of the committee members. Points are given based on the recommendations, the essay and the interview. The top students are chosen and the final numbers are dependent upon the availability of funds.

We are pleased to announce and congratulate the following students who have been selected by the ELISA Committee to represent Reserve in Costa Rica this summer (2007):

ELISA SCHOLARS

Thanks to the support and the generous donation of Dr. Dixon Long, Class of 1951, ELISA has traveled to:  Costa Rica (2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007), France (2002, 2005), Rome (2002) and Germany (2004, 2006).  Here is a current list of ELISA scholars.

TRIP DESCRIPTIONS

ELISA in Germany 2006

ELISA 2006 in Germany was a great success.  While there, Dr. Ralf Borrmann and his group of students kept in touch with family and friends by posting updates to a blog regularly. 

A detailed view of their experience can be found here.

The program provided students with a first rate academic experience, where individual attention guaranteed that everyone made progress. The program's location in a small town forced the ELISA scholars to be very involved in the culture and become involved with their host families which was from a linguistic as well as personal standpoint a most positive experience.. Most students are still in regular contact with their families and several will return next summer on their own for an extended stay.  Read more.

ELISA in France 2005

Under the skillful leadership of Madame Eschenauer, five WRA students left Cleveland on June 4, 2005, to travel to Arros de Nay (Pyrénées Atlantiques-Between Pau and Lourdes), France, where they spent close to a month attending classes taught by French teachers and residing with selected French families.  Our students took French grammar and language, history/geography, theater, cooking and participated in sports. The stay also included trips and visits related to courses.  Every Wednesday, students took day long trips with Madame to talk about the program and to enjoy the scenery.

ELISA in Costa Rica 2005

During the summer of 2005, six WRA students traveled to Costa Rica with Doña Irma to attend classes, enjoy the scenery and live with host Costa Rican families.  The group left Cleveland on June 11 and returned on July 9, 2005.  For more information, please refer to these trip highlights.

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ELISA HAS ITS OWN CLASSROOM

ELISA officially has a classroom at the University in Costa Rica. As mentioned earlier, the faculty and president of Universidad San Judas Tadeo were so impressed with the students, Western Reserve Academy and the concept of "Building Bridges" that the idea of leaving a tangible mark at the university was made a reality.

Over the spring, students attended classes in ELISA's classroom. Shown in the picture with WRA's Irma Thomas, language department chair, and Helia Betancourt, university president, and now on display in the classroom, is a plaque that carries the text shown below:

ELLEN C. LONG
Intercultural Study Abroad Classroom
ELISA 2001
San José, Costa Rica

Please visit the Universidad San Judas Tadeo website to see the home of ELISA's classroom in Costa Rica.

ELISA GUEST LECTURER

Read the biography of Froilán Escobar González, an award-winning Costa Rican writer. Mr.González is a host literature professor to ELISA scholars when they attend the ELISA program in Costa Rica, and he has also visited Western Reserve Academy as a guest lecturer.

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