By Kate Santini ‘27
Chief News Editor
Image courtesy of Kate Santini
This past week, students received various emails inviting them to attend information sessions to learn about upcoming “Maymester” opportunities. As opposed to a traditional semester or year abroad, students participating in these programs depart shortly after the conclusion of the academic year. They reside in their location of choice for roughly four weeks and during this time, fulfill at least one common area requirement. Maymester programs are designed to be immersive and experiential, with most of them catering to specific areas of interest including health care, social justice, and environmentalism. Although you must be a freshman, sophomore, or junior to apply, students are not bound by language requirements or restrictions based on major.
This year, Maymester opportunities are plentiful with programs offered on almost every continent. The programs include: Recife, Brazil (“Brazil: Music, Culture, Environment”), Havana, Cuba (“Revolutionary Health in Cuba”), Paris, France (“History, Art, Architecture”), Bangalore, India (“Social Justice in Context”), and Venice, Italy (“The Floating City”).
According to its program description, the Brazil Maymester will transport students to the Northeastern region of Brazil where they will “[examine] the intersection of environmental issues with religion, music, and industry” and benefit from “instruction in basic Brazilian Portuguese, workshops in a wide variety of music and dance traditions, interaction with local culture bearers and scholars, and exploration of some of the oldest human settlements in the Americas.” Students partaking in this trip will either fulfill their Cross-Cultural Studies or Arts requirement.
The Maymester taking place in Havana, Cuba is centered around Cuba’s unique health care system and intends to broaden students’ perspectives on how healthcare can be approached on a national level. In addition to its emphasis on “the intellectual and creative strengths of the [Cuban] Health Humanities field,” the Havana Maymester will “[combine] film and literary studies in Spanish with Anthropology.”
Students participating in the Paris, France program will fulfill either their Arts or History credit. Their classes will be centered around themes of Parisian architecture and its ties to historical events such as the French Revolution, and to artistic movements such as Classicism and Modernism. The Venice program similarly focuses on the fusion of art and history in the “Floating City.” The program is formally described “as a joint course in studio art and the history of art, architecture, and urbanism, [that] uses the lens of the environmental humanities to think about Venice as a place inscribed with history that stirs the imagination and that invites [students] to speculate about the future.” Participants in this program will fulfill their Arts credit.
Placing an emphasis on cultural immersion and on social justice as an overarching theme of study, the Bangladore Maymester “is intended to engage Holy Cross students in understanding the dynamism and paradoxes of modern Bangalore through intellectual inquiry, guided tours, internships, and personal reflection.” This program takes a highly interdisciplinary approach by allowing students to choose what type of research they will conduct and what methods they will use to conduct it. Throughout the duration of the program, students will embark upon several guided trips across India. While trips are intended to foster a deep appreciation for Indian culture, the research-based internships provide students the space to critique the nation’s policies on matters pertaining to technological expansion, healthcare and religion.
The Spire’s very own Molly Landis ‘27 was a participant in the 2024 Maymester “Sediments to Pediments,” which took place in Rome, Italy. Landis reflects fondly on her time there, sharing that “it was truly one of the best experiences that I have ever gotten the opportunity to take part in! The professors were amazing and we got to experience both the touristy side of Rome and the more unique, underground attractions.” Aside from her exposure to the wonders of Rome, Landis also commented on the practicality of taking a Maymester, saying that, “As a non-science major, having the opportunity to get a science credit while being in Rome was such an amazing opportunity! I recommend a Maymester to anyone interested in a unique way to get class credit!”Interested students can learn more about each of the 2025 Maymester opportunities via the Holy Cross website, Ignite, or the Maymester information sessions which will be scattered throughout the upcoming weeks. For the timeline of the information sessions, keep an eye out for fliers circulating campus, emails from the Office of Study Abroad or access the “Maymester” page on Ignite. The Study Abroad application portal can be accessed at sa.holycross.edu and will be open for Maymester applicants until November 1st, 2024. If you are considering applying, your academic advisor(s) and the advisors at the Holy Cross Office of Study Abroad are happy to help you with the navigation of your options and with the application process at large.
Editor Charlotte Collins
Image courtesy of College of the holy cross
Web Editor Zexuan Qu
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