ARCHIVE: Rotary Team from India Tours PCC Campus
WINTERVILLE—Seems the route between Pitt Community College and India has been well-traveled of late as the college fulfills its mission to educate and empower people for success in a global economy.
An exchange visit between a PCC instructor and professionals in India’s northern Bihar province is turning the college’s mission into reality.
In January, PCC’s Stephanie Rook traveled to India as part of the Rotary Group Study Exchange program. This month, a team from India made the return trip and, as part of their visit to America, toured the PCC campus.
Six members of the Rotary International Group Study Exchange team from District 3250 (Northeastern India) met with college employees and observed PCC programs on May 2. College administrators welcomed the group to campus with a breakfast reception in the Leslie Building to start the day.
Group members said they were very impressed with PCC and, in particular, its preschool program.
Vinita Singh, one of the visiting group members, noted the “friendly method of teaching” she had observed at the childcare facility. Mixing playtime with instruction, she said, helped the children learn “without feeling like they were in school.”
During their stop at the college’s Therapeutic Massage program, each of the visitors received a massage. “That was a treat for us,” Asha Nair said as her counterparts nodded in wholehearted agreement.
Organized by Rotary District 7720 of Eastern North Carolina, the PCC tour was part of an ongoing cultural and vocational exchange program sponsored by the international service organization. The program is an effort by Rotary to promote service to and understanding of others.
“This exchange of culture and education/business practices is an important element of Rotary International, which benefits PCC’s students and staff,” PCC President Dr. G. Dennis Massey said. “Learning about each other promotes business and international understanding, which can only benefit us all.”
During her month-long India trip, Rook, a developmental English instructor, visited and observed a number of colleges and schools. She said the visit abroad gave her “an appreciation for Indian culture and a renewed sense of pride in our own.”
05/02/2005