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“I took six students to Iceland, and we had a great experience!” –Jeff Herrin, Assistant Dean of Skilled Trades
This past May in Iceland, The GREEN Program (TGP) hosted a group of skilled trade students from Bluegrass Community College, Kentucky. The program focused on geothermal energy and hydroelectric power, and Iceland’s widespread utilization of renewables. These clean technologies successfully transformed Iceland’s energy sector to an unprecedented degree, enabling students to analyze the global capacity and future predictions of the technical potential of undeveloped resources. TGP’s Iceland curriculum is designed to address Sustainable Development Goals #7: Affordable and Clean Energy, #11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, and #13: Climate Action.
Jeff Herrin, Assistant Dean of Skilled Trades at Bluegrass Community College, explained the impact of the program on his students:
“Given the vast number of international educational opportunities offered to university students, it was refreshing to have this opportunity available for two-year technical students. The growth the students experienced in terms of education, global citizenship, and sustainability was invaluable.”
The TGP Iceland program allowed students to analyze global parallels and differences between Iceland’s energy sector and development in other parts of the world. They gained a critical global perspective that is demanded by organizations and corporations today. Students also participated in a capstone project, where they worked in groups to address a real-world sustainability issue, and designed an innovative solution that incorporated their learnings from the week. Finally, students took part in daily journal reflections to document the impact of the program and its relevance to their course of study, along with how to bring their learnings from the experience back home.
Emmerson Willhoite, an Environmental Science Technology student, said:
“As for my experience in Iceland, it was hands down the best experience I have had so far. I get emotional thinking about it, because the connections I made, the things I learned and experienced, are things I will keep forever. My favorite part was having many opportunities to meet new people and try new things, and hiking the glaciers in Iceland was breathtaking. I hope to travel with The GREEN Program at some point in the future again.”
The GREEN Program is honored to have hosted Bluegrass students in Iceland this past summer. As they join the ranks of other TGP alumni, they will receive career-related resources and opportunities focused on careers in sustainability.
To learn more about our Iceland program, please see our Programs page or reach out to our team with interest. To see examples of past capstone projects, please visit our website.