140WINTER INTERNATIONAL HARDING AND OTHER Christian universities combined forces when the pandemic shook the world in March 2020. The international programs directors from Abilene Christian University, Harding University, Lipscomb University, Oklahoma Christian University (OCU) and Pepperdine University began monthly Zoom meetings to update each other on abroad situations, share strategies in organizing trips, and support each other during a tumultuous time in international education. Ten days before 60 OCU students intended to travel to Austria for a three-week abroad program in December 2021, the borders to Austria closed. John Osborne, the director of International Programs at Oklahoma Christian University, reached out to Audra Pleasant, executive director of Harding University International Programs, in November 2021. The Artemis, which housed the Harding University in Greece (HUG) program, was made available to the OCU students and faculty for their winter session from Dec. 1 - 20. Pleasant and instructor of communication Noah Darnell, who both studied abroad at HUG, facilitated the OCU group on behalf of the usual HUG staff. Pleasant organized the itinerary, which included tours, buses and food. Darnell assisted in the academic portion of the trip by guiding tours and connecting the content their teachers provided to Greek historic and cultural sites. Even though the OCU students and faculty were prepared to study abroad in Austria, not Greece, they were thankful for Darnell’s expertise to help bridge the gap between two Christian universities. “From a collaborative perspective, we have strengths that others do not, and others have strengths that we do not have,” Darnell said. “I think that collaboration would be beneficial to all that are involved, especially the students. If you are not doing it for the students, there is no purpose in doing it.” Osborne said he appreciated Pleasant and Darnell because of their Greek expertise, helpfulness and generosity. “It really taught us that we can be really great sources of help to each other,” Osborne said. “If the pandemic showed us anything, it’s how much we need each other. Collaborating this way was a really great way of learning and helping each other.” Pleasant and Darnell said they were open to serving the OCU community and could see the importance in forming a bond with a similar school. “I love creative opportunities for people to work together and make new things,” Pleasant said. “This was a great beginning point to a conversation, both with Oklahoma Christian and within the Harding community, about better ways that we can be creative about offering different creative solutions to better utilize our facilities and provide different types of programs to our students.” WRITTEN BY EMILY STINNETT HUGGING OKLAHOMA Harding University faculty join Oklahoma Christian University abroad when borders in Austria close.
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