Story by Marshal Acosta, Guest Writer
This week at Aquinas College, I had the chance to sit down with Dr. Michelle Derose about the new book called “Where We Left Our Last Few Words,” which is about how Aquinas College is celebrating 50 years of the Ireland Program that takes students and faculty to Ireland. Michelle has had the pleasure of leading the program three times and stated that students would often tell her that this has been a “life changing experience.” The program would take students to Tully Cross, a village on the west coast of Ireland.
Over 1,000 students and faculty have gone on the trip throughout the years and Derose told me that one of the main hobbies that occurs during the trip is hiking. “Hiking is very popular in Ireland; the mountains are beautiful and you hike up and down them,” said Derose. In fact she said she was so inspired by the hiking that transpired in Ireland, that she decided to start the hiking course here at Aquinas. She loved hiking through Ireland and stated “as you are hiking through Ireland you are learning so much about Ireland without even realizing it.”
Derose went on to say that “at least 50 Aquinas faculty members have led the Ireland Program.” She also mentioned how “for many of the faculty members they had young children, so they have a piece of Irish in them from meeting so many people from Ireland.” “Ron and Miriam Peterson led the trip for five years and would refer to these students that came on the trip as ‘our Irish sons and daughters,’” Derose said. I asked her how the people that they met in Ireland have had a lasting impact on them once they return to the states, to which she responded “people feel like they have an Irish Family across the ocean and many students have stated that they would like to go back and visit once again.” She wanted to also mention how in the book there are poems that are dedicated to Miriam Peterson, who was a dear friend and fellow colleague to Derose, who unfortunately passed away this past year.
The book is 107 pages long and gives insights into what the program is about and how Ireland is such a special place. Mia Meyer and Laura Krueger were the two main contributors for the book. My final question to Dr. Derose was if a student is contemplating whether or not to go, what would you tell them? Her response was that “they should absolutely go.” She then gave an example of a student that was paying a lot of money for room and board. This student actually made more money in scholarships going on the trip than she would have paid here for her room and board.
You can purchase the book on Amazon for $9.99.
The Saint 