|
TITUSVILLE, May 1 -- Some people dream of far away places
– some people make their dreams reality.
That is exactly what Dan Ehrgood, who just completed his freshman year at
the University of Pittsburgh at Titusville, is doing as he prepares to study
abroad in China for the summer.
When Ehrgood wanted information about studying in
other countries, he turned to the Internet and the University of Pittsburgh’s
Study Abroad program.
He was immediately drawn to a three-week program in
China at Beijing University. He
applied and was accepted. A bonus
arrived at the end of March when he received a letter from Pitt’s Study Abroad
Office informing him that he had been awarded a University of Pittsburgh Freeman
Foundation Scholarship. This $3,000
scholarship will help defray the costs of Ehrgood’s international experience.
This is not the first time Ehrgood has traveled
beyond his familiar environment to try something different. Unfortunately, it took a personal tragedy to alter his
direction.
Ehrgood grew up in the pastoral setting of Lebanon,
Pennsylvania, the son of Daniel and Elizabeth and older brother of Ben and
Peter. By his own admission, his
last two years of high school were not academically outstanding.
He began to take responsibility for himself and his
actions, however, when a close friend died from a drug overdose.
“That was a turning point in my life,” says Ehrgood.
“It was also one of the major things that affected me and caused me to
change.”
After graduating from Cedar Crest High School in
1998, he says, “I realized I had blown off countless opportunities already.
I began to understand that it will always be up to me to make my life
everything I can dream it to be.”
Ehrgood thought of the friend he lost.
“Eli was a really great honor student,” says Ehrgood.
“We made some poor choices and he paid the ultimate price.
I think about him and wonder what he would be doing now if he was
alive.”
Ehrgood joined Outward Bound after high school and
participated in a 78-day course that took him through the Appalachian Mountains,
The Florida Everglades, and the jungles and villages of Costa Rica.
The experience challenged him academically, spiritually and
philosophically. He developed an
intense desire for answers to life-defining questions.
As a freshman at UPT, Ehrgood maintained a 4.0 GPA.
He recently received the 2000 Freshman Humanities Award, the 2000
Freshman Outstanding Student Achievement Award, and was inducted into Phi Theta
Kappa, an honors society.
Dr. Herb Kitson, Professor of English at UPT, said,
“Dan is one of the finest students I’ve had in my class. He is a musician, an athlete, a poet, an outdoorsman, and a
renaissance man in his search for truth.”
In his letter to apply for study abroad, Ehrgood
wrote, “My main academic interests are religious studies, political science
(global), and anthropology. I do
not consider my educational goals to be career-oriented; instead I believe that
receiving a quality education is an important part of my search for meaning in
life.”
When Ehrgood returns from China, he will prepare for
his sophomore year at the Oakland campus of the University of Pittsburgh.
For the summer, though, Ehrgood will continue his
academic and philosophical quest when he studies at Beijing University.
He and other participants in the Study Abroad Program will attend
intensive lectures given by Chinese professors (in English) on topics dealing
with continuity and change in contemporary China.
They will also study the Chinese language every day.
As part of the program, the group will visit various
historical and cultural sites: Tiananmen
Square, Peking Opera, the Great Wall, Ming Tomb, and art galleries, Beijing
neighborhoods, and a Buddhist Temple. While
studying China’s political system and Chinese foreign policy, the group will
visit the American Embassy.
“I hope I can be a role model for them and other
kids to show them they have choices, there are consequences to their choices,
and there are successes waiting for them if they choose wisely.”
|
