This summer, a limited number of students were given an opportunity to spend time at the Waynesburg University campus for an immersive educational experience. The “Space as Place – Adventure Greene County: A Knowledge for Freedom Program,” is a three-week residential class for high school juniors and seniors of Greene County.
Students reside on the Waynesburg University campus from July 8 through 26 to attend class, learn how to use tools in the new, state-of-the-art Makerspace in the eHIVE, investigate areas of interest, read transformative texts, and travel to places connected to Greene County. – all while earning three Waynesburg University credits. The class is free to students, thanks to a $250,000 grant from The Teagle Foundation’s Knowledge for Freedom Initiative. The Teagle Foundation works to support and strengthen liberal arts education, and considers it fundamental to meaningful work, effective citizenship, and a fulfilling life.
“[The program is] designed for high school juniors and seniors to participate in a humanities seminar focused on how we create places out of spaces,” said Assistant Provost Dr. Marie Leichliter-Krause. “Students will learn about civic engagement in their community, read transformative texts and primary source materials, use the new e-HIVE classroom and Makerspace to complete assignments, and visit many regional historic sites including Washington, D.C., and Gettysburg.”
Through the class, students will visit the following locations: Corbly Farm; Forks of the Cheat Baptist Church; Fort Necessity; Gettysburg National Battlefield and Visitor’s Center; Greene County Covered Bridges; Greene County Historical Museum; Greene River Trail; Jumonville Glen; Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.; Lippencott Alpaca Farm; Rices Landing Historic District and the W.A. Young and Sons Foundry and Machine Shop; Ryerson Station State Park; Scenery Hill, PA, with lunch at The Century Inn; Smithsonian Museums in Washington, D.C.; and the Unity Trail.
“Students will make connections with one another and faculty and staff at Waynesburg University,” Dr. Leichliter-Krause said. “These connections will continue as students will be invited to return to campus for various college support workshops and to participate in local projects in the Greene County community.”