"I am an English major, and I am minoring in International Studies. Being a part of the Innovation Symposium is fulfilling personal and academic goals I have set for myself. My main passion is traveling and experiencing the world and other cultures, and I have been to Hawaii and Italy through classes at IU Kokomo. Traveling to England will, undoubtedly, give me a new perspective on the cultures of the world.

The Innovation Symposium will also challenge me in new ways. I will learn to focus my skills on critical thinking and coming up with new perspectives and ideas on issues facing our world. I am most interested in the environmental issues we will be studying, since I strongly feel that we are abusing the only planet on which we are able to thrive. I am also thrilled for the opportunity to work with the other students, who bring their unique talents and brilliance to the group. "

"Hello, My name is Gora Beye and I am originally from Senegal— a relatively small and westernmost country in Africa. I went to France not just because my dad is living there since I was 1 year old, but mostly because of my schooling. I got a master’s degree in English at the university of Grenoble (Alps region), and I am about to finish another master’s here at IU Kokomo (Liberal studies). In France, I wrote a thesis on US foreign policy in Africa and received a lot of encouragements to further explore that field. That is what motivated me to come to the US for a PhD in International Relations.

I teach (as an adjunct) writing skills here in Kokomo. I like discussing global issues, and I naturally pay special attention to issues related to Africa. Over the years, there have been several policies or programs designed to help Africa, but few if any really worked. Most of these programs are generally out of a good intention to assist, but the approaches were not always appropriate. I believe by exposing us to the innovations of others, this Symposium offers the analytical basis needed to address the failures in such approaches."

"The world seems to be a smaller place every turn of the century. For as long as I remember I have been intrigued by the subtle differences between human beings.  I suppose it started when my grandmother called a green pepper a mango. We are shaped by the world we live in as much as we mold it ourselves.  I believe a trip to England will help to prove that human beings are not very different than they were hundreds of years ago.

Only today, with the help of technology, our future is boundless. This wide open frontier is as frightening and exciting as it was for the settlers in the old west. Human beings will adapt, and we will change the world. How that happens is still up for debate. I would like to have an influence on the decisions that are made. It is my goal to be a steward for the future.  To do that effectively I feel I must have a better understanding of the past."

The whole of life is but a moment of time. It is our duty, therefore to use it, not to misuse it. - Plutarch

"As a senior at IU Kokomo, this class is going to be a wonderful opportunity for me to round out my education before I graduate, and it will provide me with experiences I would not have been able to receive otherwise. I have never travelled abroad before, and therefore I'm very excited about getting to experience the big wide world outside of America firsthand.

I hope to look at the environmental issues, which are a current hot button topic on the world stage. I will be investigating the level of danger the planet is facing, and the causes behind it. After identifying the root problems, I will attempt to formulate some viable programs that can be put into place to help streamline the process of conservation, making it easier and more efficient for the everyday citizen to live a sustainable life."

"I am currently finishing my sophomore year at Indiana University Kokomo and am majoring in Secondary Education in English, and soon will be adding an additional major in Classical Studies with a focus in mythology. After being invited to participate in the Innovation Symposium, I was very anxious and hopeful to be a part of this class and all it involves. Dealing with a number of local and global issues in positive and well-thought-out ways is something I feel is extremely important to our society today. We cannot ignore the events occurring around us at any cost.

I feel this experience will be incredibly helpful for me in developing additional critical thinking and problem solving skills in positive, focused ways for my future career in the classroom and in helping to develope those same skills in the students I will one day teach. A number of the most innovative students will be gaining wonderous experience on this trip, and it is that same experience I hope to pass along to the students I will one day have in my own classroom.

In addition, England is one country that I have always longed to visit. I have always been fascinated by their history and heritage, including having a hand in the foundation of our own nation. This is one experience I will cherish for years to come and will always be grateful for."

"My name is Jonathan Guse.  I am currently a junior studying Secondary Education in Social Studies.  My areas of focus that I wish to teach are World History, Sociology, and Psychology.  The Innovation Symposium will give me the opportunity to study in and about the country whose “hand” has been in nearly every other country’s history at one time or another.  Also, England is a country of many cultures and ways of life which will entice the Sociologist in me.  In addition to my regular classes I am also a Senator-elect for the Student Government Association and I am also very active with my church as a Youth Leader.

This Symposium is such a wonderful opportunity for me to learn more about exactly what I want to teach.  It will give me the chance to gain first-hand experience of different places that have been influential in history.  My future students will be more able to appreciate what it is that I am teaching them because I’m not only getting my information from a textbook but from personal experience.  In addition to supplementing my future career, this class will also give me the opportunity to study more in depth the global impacts that the human race is having on our environment and what it means for our future."

"Hello everyone, my name is Sarah Holtsclaw and I am a junior majoring in Informatics and minoring in New Media Communications.

I just wanted to say a few words about how awesome an opportunity I believe this England trip is going to be for myself and the rest of us in this group. I’ve never been out of the country before. I’ve barely been out of this region of the United States. I am really looking forward to traveling to England to see the differences in culture and social interactions.

I feel privileged to be going on this trip with this amazing group of students and Karla for three weeks. I know that as I travel throughout England I will not only grow intellectually but also as a human being. I hope that I will come back with more knowledge than I ever thought possible and put that knowledge to work in developing strategies for bettering the world."

"My name is John Proffitt and I am a 23 year old Psychology Major from Wabash, Indiana. My interests include reading, bike riding, green energy and travel. The Innovation Symposium is important to me for several reasons. It will help me learn about some of the great innovators of history in order to model them for my own innovative solutions to world problems. Then I will use this opportunity to bring my knowledge back to my home community of Wabash to hopefully improve the conditions there.

The world issues of particular interest to me are green energy, energy independence, low carbon footprint housing and the development of a strong service industry. If handled properly, these issues provide an opportunity to create an extremely energy efficient, and low pollution producing society."

"Has it really been three years since I began my college career at IU Kokomo? It’s hard to imagine that a homeschooler from a small Indiana town could make it this far into college.  Even when I chose English as my major I only did so because I enjoy reading so much. I had no clue what I was going to do with my life, but now that I have added both a minor in writing as well as a minor in new media communications, I think I finally am on the path to my future career. And I know this class that I will be working with during the summer, the Innovation Symposium, is a big part of that future.

Having been fortunate enough to travel across much of the United States, I already have an understanding of how diverse populations can be. However, I have never had an opportunity to travel outside of the country; and it has been something of a dream of mine. Now, thanks to the Innovation Symposium and the fact that for three weeks the class will be in England, that dream of mine has the chance to come true.

What really interested me about the class when I first heard about it was the material we will be covering. Even though my experiences in life have been limited, one thing I have grown passionate about is connecting with people and working together to solve issues.

Whether it was working on the Continental Steel reclamation project in my freshman learning community, or my summer spent with Habitat for Humanity, I have been searching for a way to make a difference; both locally and globally. The curriculum of the Innovation Symposium feels like the perfect fit for this. So even if the class would have been taught in Kokomo with people I had never met before, I would still be just as excited to be a part of it. Because I know that my experiences over the coming summer will give me a valuable piece of the puzzle I need to continue successfully with my interests into the future.This truly is the opportunity of a lifetime, and I am enthusiastically looking forward to it."

"My name is Marsha Shaw.  I’m 48 years old, married, and have an 18 year-old son.  I received a Bachelor of General Studies degree in May 2006 from IU Kokomo.  I have recently decided to continue my education by pursuing a Masters of Liberal Studies degree, also at IU Kokomo.  I have been employed at IU Kokomo since 1993.  I love the atmosphere of working in education, and I contribute my own educational endeavors to being a part of this environment.  It actually took me eleven years to receive my undergraduate degree, but with perseverance, I prevailed.  I only hope that my dedication to higher learning finds its way into the heart of my son.  My goal was to be an example to him as he decides the path of his own future.

Going to England is the biggest opportunity I have ever been given.  Semester after semester I have helped plan for others to go and experience other countries--never dreaming I would one day be part of such a trip.  I have expectations of seeing and learning about things I never knew existed.  I am excited to experience the culture of the English people.  I’m anxious to see the architecture, sample the food, ride a train (something I have never done), and learn to understand their dialect.  The global issue that I am interested in is poverty.  I want to explore how the English deal with poverty as compared to the United States."