64 Wind whooshes past as students plummet thousands of feet to ground, skydiving in New Zealand. Petting the rough trunks of elephants in Thailand and kayaking the Milford Sound in New Zealand after touring the Sydney Opera House are some of the few unique adventures those at Harding’s Australasia program get to experience. After HUG and HUE’s successful first terms abroad in 1995, talks began circulating around a new business program that would be based in Singapore but also allow students to travel to neighboring areas like Japan and Hong Kong. There were also discussions over potentially starting a new campus in the Australian continent. Eventually, this program would become the Harding in Australasia (HUA) study abroad program. This program would be different than its predecessors because while trips like HUG, HUF and HUE focused more on ancient ruins or history, the emphasis of HUA would be on nature. This program, which launched in fall 1996, quickly garnered the interest of the students who filled the 40 some spots just days after the trip was announced in chapel. It was during this first semester of HUA that Harding also began offering scholarships for students to go abroad (for HUF and HUG as well). The scholarships were the passion project of the first International Programs director Dean Shackleford, who wanted Harding students to travel the world and develop a passion for sharing the gospel “to the ends of the earth.” These scholarships would go to students based on financial need and academic achievement. The development of HUA was due in large part to former President Burks, who built it with the help of Rich Little, a native of Queensland, Australia. In its first year, students were sent to the Great Barrier Reef, Ayer’s Rock, Australian capital Canberra and Sydney’s Opera House. AUSTRALASIA A day in Paris seeing the Eiffel Tower lit up in the Camp de Mars Gardens can swiftly change to sailing around the icy Scandinavian peninsulas for students participating in the Harding in Europe (HUE) program. This program gives students the opportunity to travel to one country after another, getting a taste of Europe in a matter of months. During the advent of HUG, the University also began the Harding in England program, which would eventually become known as the Harding in Europe program due to the many trips around Europe. The Harding in England inaugural group of 20 started their trip in the New Atlantic Hotel whose renovation was still underway during the first semester abroad. After spending some time in the “Tube” or Underground Railroad System, British Museum and visiting the Prime Meridian, the group went to Ireland, where they visited the famous Blarney Castle and its stone, which promises to bring the talent of public-speaking to anyone who kisses it. The group also visited Scotland and Wales. Throughout their travels the group also spent time studying music, business and the humanities. Like its predecessors, HUE was an extremely well-enjoyed international program, and by summer 2005, HUE began its first summer program. As the program has grown, students have traveled to Iceland, England, the Netherlands, Germany, France and Italy to visit their sister campus in HUF, allowing HUF director Robbie Shackleford the chance to teach and learn alongside the HUE students as well. Harding University in HUE has been able to provide so many life-changing experiences to countless Harding students. EUROPE Photo courtesy of International Programs Photo courtesy of Brackett Archives
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