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prospective student to make journey to Centre
RELEASED: Jan. 22, 2004
DANVILLE, KY—When searching for the right college, many students dig through dozens of guidebooks, search Web sites and visit numerous campuses across the country. But one Centre freshman simply relaxed in front of the TV and flipped on the Travel Channel.
In July of 2002, Phyllis Passariello, associate professor of anthropology at Centre, appeared in the Discovery Travel Channel special "World's Best Places to Go Back in Time." Freshman Lauren Holditch and her mother were watching. After viewing the program, Holditch was not only impressed with Passariello but also curious about Centre.
"I heard (Passariello) talking," Holditch said. "She sounded like she knew what she was talking about and we just looked (Centre) up online and found out they had a lot of things that I was looking for in a college."
Holditch, a Cincinnati native who plans to major in sociology/anthropology, visited campus and decided Centre was the place for her.
In researching Centre, she was impressed with the College's study abroad program. She read a travel journal by a student studying in Japan. Holditch plans to study in Japan as a junor. She also noted Centre's outstanding faculty and small classes.
"There are no teaching assistants, which is good," Holditch said. "Having a strong connection with the professors was also very important to me."
She got the opportunity to meet Passariello in person during freshman orientation and told her how she learned of Centre.
Holditch said she's looking forward to taking "Cultural Anthropology" and other courses from Passariello.
In the Travel Channel program, Passariello spoke about Wales in the 1300s, Bath, England circa 973 A.D., Cambodia's Angkor Wat and the nearby temples in the ninth century, and Italy in 79 A.D.
A veteran of extensive fieldwork with the Maya and other peoples of Mexico as well as with indigenous peoples of Ecuador, Passariello has a strong interest in the anthropology of tourism. She recently took a class for a weeklong trip to Florida as part of her CentreTerm course "The Anthropology of Tourism."
To find out more about Centre's anthropology/sociology program, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/academic/majors/anthro.html.
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