College of Arts and Sciences Newsroom

University of Dayton senior Dawnn Fann spent the spring 2018 semester studying on the beaches of Hawaii, where her environmental science lab included snorkeling and scuba diving.

Fann, a communication major from Cleveland, Ohio, attended Chaminade University, a Marianist institution in Honolulu, through the Marianist Exchange program.

The program allows University of Dayton students to experience a semester or year at a sister U.S. Marianist university — Chaminade University or St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas — for the same tuition cost. Students take the equivalent of a full course load at the host university for transfer credit.

The program supports the University of Dayton’s vision to develop students as servant-leaders by expanding intercultural and global engagement through intercultural immersion opportunities.

Fann first became interested in the program after she heard about it during her University of Dayton campus tour.

“I knew I really wanted to study abroad in a tropical, warm area,” she said. “Hawaii is far enough away from the mainland that it is a totally different experience and culture.”

Fann attended class two days a week, while also taking three courses online. She had the opportunity to snorkel and scuba dive with sea turtles in Hanauma Bay during her environmental science lab, but her favorite course was intercultural communication.

“I am very interested in culture and breaking that barrier with other people who don’t speak the same language and grew up different from you,” Fann said. “I was able to learn a lot through that course.”

Fann is grateful for the people she met during the experience, and continues to stay connected with them through social media.

“The most rewarding part was the people I met,” she said. “I know kids from the Marshall Islands, Pompeii, Guam, Samoa — all the Pacific islands. I was able to hear about all their experiences growing up in the Pacific islands. My roommates grew up in the Marshall islands and they didn’t have bowling alleys or malls; for fun they would get in the car and just drive the island.”

Chaminade University is the only Catholic university in Hawaii and has a total enrollment of about 3,000 students. Because it is built upon the same Catholic Marianist education principles as Dayton, students feel a sense of familiarity while being immersed into a culture different than their own.

“Everyone at Chaminade was very friendly to me, just how Dayton is,” Fann said. “They were all very welcoming, and I didn’t feel like an outsider or a stranger. You could see the Marianist values being upheld.”

Students are selected for the Marianist Exchange program through an application process with a high consideration of merit, character and dedication to intercultural learning and development. They are expected to complete a service-learning component as part of their participation.

Fann volunteered at a private, nonprofit organization, Paepae o He’eia, which works to preserve Oahu’s ancient He’eia fishpond. This service-learning component was a part of Fann’s Pacific island history course.

Students benefit from experiencing a new culture as part of their University of Dayton education, said Heather Schieman, the Chaminade Exchange program advisor in the Center for International Programs’ Office of Education Abroad.

“As our communities become more diverse, our ability to see, understand and respect the differences that we may have in culture help to make us better partners in the communities we live and work within,” Schieman said. “Any opportunity that a student has to move outside of what they consider the norm, in order to see the world through another perspective, will serve as a benefit throughout all areas of their personal and professional lives.”

In her free time, Fann enjoyed activities including hiking, cliff jumping, swimming with dolphins and paddle boarding. For spring break, she and her friends drove from one end of the island of Oahu to the other. Because her off-campus apartment was about a 10 minute walk from the beach, Fann would often do her homework oceanside.

“I was living my best life, as cliche as that is. I loved every single minute of Hawaii,” Fann said.

“To all students thinking about going, go,” she said. “The Marianist Exchange program is a great opportunity, and I think it is a very underrated program. I grew up a lot emotionally during my semester away, and a lot opened up for me. I met a great group of friends and learned a lot about myself.”

For more information, visit the Center for International Programs’ website or office in Alumni Hall 213.

- Ashley Junkunc ’21