Students share stories of adventure and learning in Morocco in on-line magazine

This semester 56 students will be attending classes at the University of New England’s campus in Tangier, Morocco. It will be the largest number of UNE students there at one time. Many of them will be sharing their experiences through the on-line magazine Moorish Tides.

Faculty member Tony David, Ph.D., now a proud resident of Tangier, challenges his students to write about their experiences and encounters while exploring the region.

“The idea behind my classes is that UNE students should experience Tangier and Morocco as one of the world’s greatest classrooms,” says David.

UNE students study abroad at five times the national average. Part of the experience for those students is taking in the local culture.

“We bring them out into the community, encouraging them to meet people and experience the cultural fabric,” says Neal Jandreau, director of creative strategies for UNE’s Office of Global Affairs.

Initially David had the idea of putting the students’ writings into a blog. UNE Vice President for Global Affairs Anouar Majid, Ph.D., decided instead to build a magazine to showcase the stories.

“To see our students write such first-rate essays and have them published professionally is quite simply a tremendous joy,” Majid says.

Kelsey Golemo (Dental Hygiene, ’19) spent the fall semester of her sophomore year in Morocco.

“It was a huge culture shock, but that’s what I wanted,” Golemo says. “It really did change me as a person, learning the culture and throwing myself into something completely different.”

Golemo says the best experience she had in Tangier was visiting a Jewish retirement home and speaking with Sam Cohen, one of the few remaining Jews left in the Muslim city.

“He lived a long life, and his story really inspired me. He is an amazing human being,” Golemo says.

Her story about Cohen is one of several articles written by UNE students in Moorish Tides.

Golemo encourages all UNE students to take advantage of the opportunity to study abroad and to share their experiences through the on-line magazine.

“It was the best decision I ever made,” she says.