Global Studies Award Supported a Life-Changing Trip to Ireland

Meghan Laflamme is the first RIC student to be awarded the David S. Thomas Award for Global Studies. This award was created by the late professor of history David Thomas, who also created the global studies major. Thomas believed in the tremendous benefit of immersing oneself in other cultures. He designed the award for a senior whose scholarship and/or service embodies the spirit of his work and to support their study abroad.

A super senior majoring in elementary education, with a concentration in special education and a minor in global studies, Laflamme applied her $1,500 David S. Thomas Award toward a three-week study abroad trip to Ireland this summer. The bulk of the costs came from an early graduation gift by her grandparents.

“I’ve always wanted to study abroad,” says Laflamme. “I think it’s important, in general, for people to see the world. When I was growing up, my family couldn’t afford to travel abroad, so we went on a lot of road trips to see different parts of the United States. I think you get a better understanding of other people and their culture and it lessens your ignorance of other people.”

At the end of May, Laflamme flew to Limerick, Ireland, to take a six-week course on “Irish Life and Literature” at the University of Limerick. The course will count toward her global studies minor. 

Because it was a six-credit course, she was in class five days a week for six-and-a-half hours a day – from 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and from 2-6 p.m. Assignments included class field trips designed to immerse the students in Irish culture.

“We visited the Milk Market, which is like the Farmer’s Market here. We went to St. Mary’s Cathedral and to Bunratty Castle,” she says.

Laflamme was particularly fascinated by the defensive features of Bunratty Castle. The fortification was surrounded by a moat, which forced anyone who wanted to enter the castle to use the drawbridge. If fighting started on the drawbridge, arrow slots built into the castle walls were used to shoot at the enemy. If the attackers made it past the drawbridge to the entrance door, a “murder hole” above the door would be used to pour scalding water or boiling oil upon their heads.

“Inside the castle there were super narrow spiral staircases,” Laflamme says. “It was even hard for one person to squeeze up the stairs.” But it made it easier for the castle defenders to pick off their attackers one by one as they ascended the stairs. “Overall, the castle was dark and dreary and seemed lonely,” she says. “It was a time of constant war.”

Laflamme continued to pack in as many excursions as she could during her time in Ireland and began to feel her own Irish roots. “My mother’s side of the family is Irish,” says the 22-year-old. “I soon felt like Ireland was a part of me.”

She reveled in the Irish food, choosing to bypass the dorm’s breakfast cereal for the traditional Irish breakfast, consisting of eggs, hash browns, rolls, baked beans, sausage and “rashers.” Rashers are Irish bacon but not like American bacon; they’re more like slices of fried ham.

Outside of class, she visited The Locke Bar with friends to listen to live Irish music. “It made me feel so incredibly happy,” she says. “Everyone was singing together and swaying. The music just makes you want to get up and dance.”

“I know I’ll return to Ireland,” she says, “whether it’s to study or teach abroad. I can definitely see myself living there. That’s how impactful it was.”

“When you step beyond your comfort zone, you open the door to countless global opportunities,” says RIC Director of Global Studies Moonsil Kim. “It’s through these first-hand experiences of study abroad that you not only broaden your horizons but transform into a global leader.”

For more information on a major or minor in global studies, see the Global Studies Program.