The World is Her Oyster while Meredith is Her Home
By Leesha Austin, '02

"I think I have the most delicious job on campus," chuckled Dr. Betty Webb, director of international studies/study abroad and professor of English.

Who would argue with someone whose career allows her to combine her love of travel, English and teaching?

Webb, who came to Meredith College in 1963 as a freshman, taught public school in Apex and in Fairfax County for a few years before pursuing graduate study and returning to Meredith as a faculty member. She has been a part of the Meredith community for 40 years.

Webb has served as an English professor and as the director of the Office of International Studies, more commonly known as the Office of Study Abroad.

In addition, Webb teaches the Practicum in Teaching English course, and she advises students who are seeking their secondary licensure in English education. She also teaches the Irish Renaissance literature course, which allows her to explore and share her literary specialty—19th century Irish fiction.

While Webb enjoys what she does, she admits that her job is not an easy one. "I work incredibly hard," explained Webb, "but study abroad students are almost always extraordinary young women." Not surprisingly Webb considers the students her favorite part of Meredith College.

As director of study abroad, Webb guides the Meredith Summer Abroad students through Italy, Switzerland and the United Kingdom each summer. She said that people sometimes ask her if she wouldn't prefer to journey to new locations rather than returning to the same locations year after year.

However, according to Webb, each summer she is able to see the locations "afresh" through the students' eyes as they experience them for the first time.

Along with these experiences, Webb shared that what she loves most about her job is that she takes "real pleasure when a student does the Meredith program in the summer and then comes back ready to do a semester program on her own."

This outcome convinces Webb that the program has truly worked and that the student has personally claimed the experience. When students thank her, Webb tells them, "You made that happen for yourself."

Webb's own fascination with travel began when, as a student at Meredith, she would listen to her English professors tell stories of their summers abroad. These professors would choose a writer and spend the summer retracing the writer's steps, using the writer's journal as a guide.

As a result, "I knew that women could travel abroad," explained Webb, who first did so as a 30-year-old Meredith faculty member, leading a group of Meredith students. She added that her specialization in Irish literature and her husband, John Rose, who loves to discover new places, are two other factors that fan the flames of her joy for travel.

Not surprisingly, outside of work Webb enjoys traveling—especially walking holidays. However, Webb often undertakes more adventurous travel activities than she would recommend for her students.

For instance, her most memorable experience of exploring a new place was a canoeing trip on the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe where she "dodged hippopotami, knowing there were crocodiles in the water."

She also shared the experience of walking in a game park during this trip and experiencing the rare treat of seeing a leopard. This memory is particularly special since she and Rose knew that his daughter was having her baby on this day. As a result, the couple often give their granddaughter leopard inspired gifts.

During some of her less adventurous moments, Webb enjoys reading and cites Toni Morrison's Beloved and Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent as two of her favorite novels. Her favorite film is Truly, Madly, Deeply, an English film which stars Juliet Stevenson.

As a Meredith alumna considering her travels and other experiences, one might think that it would take Webb quite a while to share all of her wisdom. But when asked what advice she would offer Meredith students, Webb paused long enough to smile and then managed to sum it up in two words: "Study Abroad."

Alumnae Travel Program Offering Trips to New York and France

Meredith's alumnae travel program is offering two upcoming trips. Meredith faculty and staff are invited to take advantage of these opportunities.

Pre-Holiday Shopping Trip to New York City

Join Meredith alumnae to enjoy a pre-holiday trip to New York City this November 12-14. Plans include a visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Frick Museum, walking tour of Chinatown and Little Italy, a special reception to meet New York alumnae, and free time to shop, eat and see Broadway shows. The cost for this trip is $699/per person double occupancy or $599/per person, quadruple occupancy. A $300 deposit is due Sept. 1, and the balance is due Oct. 1, 2004. Price includes airfare, transfers, accommodations in a first-class hotel in a great neighborhood, and admission to museums and tours. Make checks payable to Meredith College.

Plan a French Vacation with Meredith Alumnae

Plans are being finalized now for an alumnae tour of France, from Provence to Paris, June 26-July 6, 2005. The tour is to begin in Nice, where the group will stay for several days, checking out the world of the impressionists. There will also be time to visit Cannes and Monte Carlo. Then the tour will travel north by private motor coach, through wine and cheese country, stopping to see the Caves at Lascaux, the great medieval church at Moissac, and the chateau at Chambord. The trip ends with four nights in Paris accented by visits to the Louvre, couturier shows, and a culinary extravaganza.

To sign up for the New York City trip, send payment to Blue Greenberg, Office of Alumnae and Parent Relations, Meredith College, 3800 Hillsborough Street, Raleigh, 27607.

For more information on either trip, check www.meredith.edu/alumnae/travel-program.htm, or call Blue Greenberg, at (919) 760-2860.

Meredith Welcomes Nationally Ranked Wheelchair Tennis Player Harriet Enzor for Disability Awareness Day
By Leesha Austin, '02

On March 29, members of the Meredith community had the opportunity to try their skills at swinging a tennis racket while maneuvering a wheelchair.

This was just one of the activities that comprised Disabilities Awareness Day, sponsored by the Counseling Center/Disability Services and the Disability Support Organization, a student organization.

"The purpose of Disability Awareness Day is to raise campus consciousness regarding disability issues," said Betty-Shannon Prevatt, interim coordinator of disability services.

The wheelchair tennis experience was part of the guest lecture, delivered by Dr. Harriet Enzor, an associate professor in Campbell University's School of Education, who has achieved national and international rankings as a wheel-chair tennis player. Enzor is the chairperson for the wheelchair tennis committee for the North Carolina Tennis Association. She has coordinated numerous wheelchair tennis clinics in North Carolina for players and professionals

The opening of an art exhibit that deals with disabilities followed the lecture. Carol Hayes, assistant professor of art, coordinated the exhibition, which will be open through May 9 in Ledford Hall.

The art exhibit and Enzor's lecture replaced the abstract notion of disabilities with a more personal representation.

Enzor, who has been ranked #1 for singles and doubles nationally and #12 internationally, shared how she, as a 14-year-old athlete, became paralyzed following a government mandated polio vaccination in 1964. According to Enzor, she played softball, basketball and volleyball, and ironically, she had signed up for tennis lessons that summer.

Wheelchair tennis filled a void for Enzor. "Harriet ended at 14, but she came back in 1992 when I started wheelchair tennis," she said. "It wasn't until I discovered wheelchair tennis that I began to fill that hole inside."

Following her lecture, Enzor showed the audience two chairs she uses for wheelchair tennis and asked audience members to come try them out.

For more information on Disability Awareness Day, contact the Counseling Center, at ext. 8427.

<< page 2 | page 4 >>

Nutshell Archives:
January 04
February 04
March 04
April 04