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SOU student will see the world while earning class credit By DANI DODGE One Southern Oregon University student won't just read about the Great Wall of China as he studies that country's history this fall. He'll go there. And to Tiananmen Square, the Great Pyramids of Egypt and the Taj Mahal in India. In a program offered through the University of Pittsburgh, Medford's Troy Smith, 20, will earn 12 college credits while he travels to 10 countries on the SS Universe Explorer. The education will cost him $12,000. Smith "It's going to be awesome," Smith said. About 600 students a semester board the Universe Explorer each semester. The ship is a campus in which students work in a traditional classroom setting as well as do their international field work. The students spend three to five days at port in each country. Smith learned about the program by reading a bulletin board at SOU, where he is majoring in international studies. A member of the Army National Guard, he is paying for the program with loans, grants and money from the Guard. He will be gone from Sept. 14 through Dec. 23. Smith signed up for classes in macroeconomics, world geography, comparative politics and religious studies dealing with myth, symbol and ritual. A graduate of Cascade Christian High School in Jacksonville, Smith enjoyed playing football. Before enrolling in SOU's international studies program, Smith spent a year at Oregon Institute of Technology studying computer engineering. "I could have graduated from there but I couldn't imagine doing that for the rest of my life," he said. "It wasn't something I was truly interested in. I decided to get into something I really liked. Travel, he likes. "He's very world-oriented and self-motivated," his mother, Cindy Smith, said. "I knew there would be different things in store for him ever since he was very young." He is the first in his immediate family to attempt to get a bachelor's degree. He plans to go on for his master's. The only country he's visited so far is Japan. He went there for a three-week training mission with the National Guard. "That was fun," he said. "Travel just appeals to me because of the new experiences you can have. I think this is a very opportune way to learn." And no, he isn't worried about getting seasick: "I'm not a fragile person." For more information on the Semester at Sea program, call 1-800-854-0195 or check out the Web site: www.semesteratsea.com Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA