November 22, 2024
News - Joliet and Will County

Channahon teen gets extra preparation for teaching career

In email from a school counselor led to a life-changing experience for a Channahon teen. Hannah Borgra, 17, said the counselor had sent information about a unique scholarship opportunity for the Irish Life Experience.

By Denise M. Baran-Unland

According to the Irish American Society of County Will website, the Irish Life Experience provides students the opportunity to live in a different cultural environment. Since 1981, the society has selected at least one high school student from Will County for a “six-week, well supervised, exploration of Irish Heritage,” the website also said. To date, the society has sent 29 teens, the website added. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, a trip to Ireland! How cool would that be?’” Borgra said. (Above, Borgra poses with Abby Howles of Michigan at the National Gaelic Hurling Finals)

According to the Irish American Society of County Will website, the Irish Life Experience provides students the opportunity to live in a different cultural environment. Since 1981, the society has selected at least one high school student from Will County for a “six-week, well supervised, exploration of Irish Heritage,” the website also said. To date, the society has sent 29 teens, the website added. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, a trip to Ireland! How cool would that be?’” Borgra said. (Above, Borgra poses with Abby Howles of Michigan at the National Gaelic Hurling Finals)

To apply, Borgra said she asked for two recommendation letters, wrote a “getting to know me" letter, and then submitted the application and tried hard not to think about it. “Sure enough, two weeks later I got a call,” Borgra said. Borgra said she was interviewed in front of three members of the society – a simple interview, she added, about her career goals and why the trip interested her.

“I have always been a huge history person. It’s my favorite subject in school,” Borgra said. “And I’ve always had a connection with the Irish, it seems. My family is partly Irish, and I went to a Catholic school that was like an Irish Catholic school; I thought the Irish culture was really interesting. I have a bucket list of places I wanted to go and Ireland was on top of that list.” Later that same evening, Borgra received a second call. She was accepted into the program. (Above, Ross Castle)

The group, 13 teens from across the United States, would leave for Ireland on June 19 and return July 23, Borgra said. Borgra flew from Chicago to Boston by herself and was met by one of the counselors. More students arrived as the day progressed. The group left Boston at 9 p.m. that same day and arrived in Dublin six hours later, which, accounting for the time difference, was 8 a.m., Borgra said. And they jumped right into the program.

We went on our first tour to a huge lake and did a 3-mile hike that day,” Borgra said. “We were all just jet lagged but it was good to get to know everybody.” They stayed at a small, boarding-school type campus in Waterford and met their three Irish teachers. One taught literature, another taught history and the third taught Gaelic, Borgra said. Week two was spent with the same teacher in at a second campus in Dublin. In addition to the classes, the students toured the city and participated in workshops: drama, Irish dance and Gaelic sports. "And we did some Irish baking, scones and stuff,” Borgra said.

Next, the group went to Northern Ireland and saw the Giant’s Causeway and the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, she said. “Because it’s considered the United Kingdom, we saw the different flag and the different money up there,” Borgra said. “It was so cool to see and think that, ‘Oh my gosh, I was in Ireland and the UK."

The group also spent time in Killarney (above) and Galway, with Galway being Borgra’s favorite because they stayed in their own apartment. “We got to cook our own meals and we had a bit more freedom to explore the city,” Borgra said. The group stayed in an apartment in Killarney too, but it was more like a hotel apartment, whereas the Galway accommodations, Borgra said, resembled a college apartment.

When members stayed at the various campuses, the students’ meals were prepared for them. Borgra said the food was good but different from meals at home: lots of potatoes, light on seasoning. Would she do it again?

“In a heartbeat," Borgra said. “This was the most amazing experience of my life.” Circling back to the purpose of the trip, how does Borgra feel her time in Ireland will help with a teaching career? Borgra said it exposed her to different teaching methods from some “extraordinary teachers,” that their literature is “deep” and every landmark has a story behind it.

“It taught me how to value life lessons,” Borgra said, “and how to meet new friends. I didn’t know a single person when I left on the trip and know I have 12 new lifelong friends." ———————– KNOW MORE For more information on applying for scholarships offered by the Irish American Society of County Will, visit www.countywillirish.net.

PeopleChannahon
Denise Unland

Denise M. Baran-Unland

Denise M. Baran-Unland is the features editor for The Herald-News in Joliet. She covers a variety of human interest stories. She also writes the long-time weekly tribute feature “An Extraordinary Life about local people who have died. She studied journalism at the College of St. Francis in Joliet, now the University of St. Francis.