NewsLab

French scholar Romain Rolland once said, "If there is one place on the face of earth where all the dreams of living men have found a home from the very earliest days when man began the dream of existence, it is India."

For many CSS students those dreams were realized during a recent trip to India. The trip allowed students to not only experience Indian culture, but also to complete a project as unique as they wanted to make it. The project allowed each student to choose what to study, where to go, and  what do. 

One student who had the opportunity to experience Indian is Leslie Karpen. I was able to learn all about the main purpose of this lifetime experience to India at the poster presentation in February.

Karpen’s project specifically involved choosing a personal health record (PHR) for the students traveling abroad to use. Karpen said, “A PHR is something used to track medications, allergies, immunizations, exercise routines, diet and pretty much anything else you can think of for safe travels.”

The most common form is an online version and you can find many for free. Karpen and her group chose (nomoreclipborads.com). “To summarize, my main purpose was to find a PHR that would best fit the students abroad to track their health information in case something were to happen,” Karpen said.

Karpen’s experience opened her eyes to how readily we take things here in the US for granted. “Some things I learned while in India were how nice we have it in the US,” Karpen said. “We take a lot of little things for granted like clean water, public restrooms, shoes, and the opportunity to go to school.”

She also learned how hospitable Indian people are. “What was super interesting was how hospitable Indian people are,” Karpen said. “Every place we went we were offered beverages, snacks, and a place to sit. Everyone was so excited to have American students in their country to learn more about them.”

People who attended the presentations where surrounded by Indian food, beautiful art, and colorful dresses and clothing from the presenters. It’s not every day people are blessed with the opportunity to travel the globe and have such an educational and unforgettable experience.

After seeing the presentations, it’s easy to understand why someone like Mark Twain called India the cradle of the human race. "India is, the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grand mother of tradition. our most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only."