New London, N.C.----Close your eyes for a brief moment…and imagine riding a Gondola, high above the ground, up a steep mountainside in one of the most famous mountain chains in the world…the Swiss Alps! The higher one gets, the cooler the air gets, as a gentle breeze blows across one’s face. As one looks out to the right and to the left, in front and behind, one sees towering, jagged, snow-capped peaks puncturing the Carolina blue sky.
A little below the snow line is pasture land, full of cows, whose bells fill the air with music. The pastures are spotted with the white, yellow and purple colors of the first flowers…indicating springtime is here. Now imagine you are over 7000 feet above sea level, strapped into a small seat, with your legs dangling and a steep, rocky ravine under the feet. One hears a click…and then one starts an adventure on the zip line that carries riders down 800 meters where one comes to a jolting stop.
Only a short time ago, I was sharing this experience with 25 other Wingate peers on our W’International trip! To add to this, following the time on the zip line, we were given trotti bikes (bicycles with no seats). We used the trotti bikes to ride the rest of the way down the mountain.
This was only a part of one of our days in Switzerland. As we began our descent into the Zurich airport, everyone’s attention was focused out of the right-side plane windows, as we strained our necks to see the Swiss Alps faintly standing proud in the distance. This was the first time I had seen Switzerland (other than in pictures); I knew it was going to be an unforgettable trip!
When we landed at the Zurich airport, it was off to the races from that moment until we returned to North Carolina. We stopped at many museums and cathedrals. We saw a castle and several worldwide headquarters along our journey, which began and ended in Zurich with stops in Lucerne, Schweiz, Interlaken, Lausanne, Geneva and Bern along the way.
Among the museums, we visited the Protestant Reformation Museum in Geneva, the International Olympic Museum in Lausanne, the International Red Cross Museum in Geneva, the William Tell Museum in the small town of Altdorf and the Swiss National Museum in Zurich.
Other highlights of the trip were: the visit to the Chateau de Chillon, a castle built in the 13th century; the visit to the United Nations European Headquarters, where the World Health Organization was holding a huge conference at the time; the Gross Munster, which is the old cathedral where Ulrich Zwingli, the leader of the Protestant Reformation in Switzerland, was the priest. On top of each of these activities, we were also able to be a part of the Swiss culture by merely walking around cities and towns.
Switzerland is a country well known for its beauty and its neutrality when it comes to war. These two traits were both evident on my visit to Switzerland. No matter what part of Switzerland we visited, there was always crystal clear water in plain view, reflecting the blue of the sky; or mountains towering high above the place we were standing. Each morning as I awoke, I knew I would see another beautiful picture in God’s great creation!
WINGATE UNIVERSITY’S W’INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM
Each year, eligible students in their junior year of study are offered an opportunity to spend 10 days abroad with a Wingate faculty member after a semester of study related to the relevant destination. The W’International program, created in 1978, makes a study-abroad experience available to students at little extra expense beyond the semester’s tuition charge.
Since the program’s inception, students have traveled to more than 30 countries in virtually every corner of the globe. Typically, eligible students may choose one of six different destinations. W’International trips either leave after Christmas each year, or after Commencement in May.
WINGATE UNIVERSITY
Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a comprehensive university with more than 2,300 students on three campuses in Wingate, Matthews and Hendersonville, N.C. The university offers 32 undergraduate majors, 36 minors and career concentrations, numerous pre-professional programs, graduate degrees in business, accounting, physician assistant studies and sports administration and doctorates in pharmacy and education.
Wingate students gain the tools and support they need to excel in academics and apply that learning toward an extraordinary career and life. The campus community offers in-class learning, out-of-class experiences, strong mentors, a competitive yet caring environment and rewarding community service opportunities for a complete educational experience.
Bulldog student-athletes compete in 19 NCAA Division II sports. Wingate University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past five years.
Wingate University is ranked number three among NCAA Division II Academic All-America® producing schools in the 2000’s with 39 honorees during this millennium. Only Pittsburg State (Kan.) University and Truman State (Mo.) University have produced more Academic All-America® honorees during this time period. Wingate’s 48 Academic All-America® honorees (lifetime) is tops among all SAC schools.
