For the next three years, Mount St. Mary’s University will offer affordable semester-abroad trips to Dublin in the fall and spring semesters as well as a week-long summer study abroad experience. Under a partnership between the university and the Handmaids for the Sacred Heart of Jesus (HSHJ) congregation, the Mount will lease Clonmore House at the HSHJ property outside Dublin as a base for three years of study abroad trips in Ireland.
“This program meets our goal of offering a financially accessible study abroad opportunity comparable to the cost of a semester of room and board in residence at the Mount,” said Love Sechrest, Ph.D., the Mount’s associate provost for academic affairs and a professor in the Department of Theology.
The program was made possible by a generous gift from Raphael Della Ratta, C’92, a member of the Mount’s Board of Trustees and a long-time supporter of the liberal arts at the university. Della Ratta’s gift funded the Climb the Mount Initiative in support of the university’s mission. Under the Climb the Mount initiative, students are led through a self-discovery process as part of the integrated core curriculum. Next, students are introduced to avenues to leave campus to interact with the world beyond Emmitsburg. Finally, the university assists students in securing external academic opportunities that will launch them to purpose-driven lives and successful careers.
In making study abroad more accessible to Mount students, the university will lease recently renovated Clonmore House, a dormitory-style building on the grounds of HSHJ’s St. Raphaela’s Convent in Stillorgan, Ireland, for three years. Clonmore House features accommodations for students, a kitchen and dining area, and space for classes and recreation. The lease also includes housing for faculty leading the study abroad trips on St. Raphaela’s grounds.
St. Raphaela’s convent is in County Dublin, mere minutes from Dublin city. The HSHJ congregation runs primary and secondary schools on the property.
Sechrest worked alongside Elizabeth Strauss, Ph.D., interim director of international programs and assistant professor of history, in bringing the partnership to fruition, with help from Edward Egan, J,D., C'77, director of the Pre-Law Program and First-Year Symposium and lecturer in the Department of Political Science (as well as erstwhile faculty leader for Dublin semesters abroad); Bill Davies, vice president for business and finance; John Callahan, controller; and the Foreign Studies Advisory Committee faculty.
“We’re thrilled to craft a sustainable pilot program for Mount students to have an incredible and affordable study abroad opportunity in Dublin,” said Sechrest.
The Mount will continue to offer selected trips to other destinations during the academic year and spring and summer breaks. To learn more about study abroad programs, visit https://msmary.edu/academics/international-programs/mount-sponsored-programs.html.