ISSUED: 19 February 2021
MEDIA CONTACT: Valerie Owens
SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — Shepherd University’s Center for Appalachian Studies and Communities is hosting a virtual fundraising event via Zoom on Monday, March 1, at 6:30 p.m. titled “Highland Travels with Elinor and Sherman.” This virtual fundraising event will provide financial support for a travel scholarship fund through the Shepherd University Foundation that supports students taking the Celtic Roots Global Appalachia course, which includes a trip abroad. The event is open to the public. No reservations are needed.
During the event, community member Elinor Ross will reminisce about a trip to Scotland that she and her family took in 1965 at the end of a Fulbright experience in Liege, Belgium, that her husband, Sherman Ross, a World War II veteran, participated in. The 1965 trip follows the path for the August tour planned by the center, “The Highlands and the Orkneys, A Scottish Adventure,” which will give students a chance to see for themselves the places discussed in the class. This year’s trip through the Center for Appalachian Studies and Communities and WorldStrides Travel Group will go to Scotland, the English Lakes, Yorkshire Moors, and Orkney Islands.
Students receiving scholarships this year are Archibald “Bland” Campbell, a Master of Arts in Teaching and Appalachian studies certificate graduate student from Charles Town, and Chloe Johnson, an English major and Appalachian studies minor from Martinsburg who has worked closely with community members in a storytelling project through the Appalachian studies program.
This project, spearheaded by Ross and community member Catherine Irwin, began as a way to support Shepherd students traveling on the Celtic Roots Global Appalachia study tour. Donations to support the students can be made online at the Foundation webpage or by check to the Shepherd University Foundation, P.O. Box 5000, Shepherdstown, WV, 25443-5000. Please make a note that the gift should be earmarked for the Celtic Roots Global Appalachia Community Fund.
To join the event, visit the Zoom weblink.
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