Euripides so rightly said, “Experience, travel — these are an education in themselves.” And what are we all about at Copiah-Lincoln Community College if not education? Jan Pickle, however, has put an exciting twist to that sometimes dull term. She gives students the gift of education through travel.

Since 1999, Mrs. Pickle has been in collaboration with the Co-Lin Humanities Department insuring that students have the opportunity to experience the world. The department sponsors a trip each year that is open to all students and the community. Mrs. Pickle has sponsored trips to England, Scotland, France, Italy and Greece.

For her dedication to her students and her excellence in teaching, Mrs. Pickle has been proclaimed one of the Mississippi Humanities Council’s Outstanding Humanities Instructors for 2007. She will be honored at the Capital in February.

In conjunction with her award, Mrs. Pickle will present a program entitled “Travel 101: The World is my Classroom” at 11 a.m. Monday in the Co-Lin Lecture Hall, located in the Tom Reed Academic Building. This entertaining program is free to the public.

An avid photographer, Pickle has produced a lecture/slide presentation that will wow the audience. She also has entertaining travel tales to tell and intriguing bits of information about the places to which she has taken students and members of our community.

Pickle says that she was first bitten by the travel bug when she took her high school AP English class to England in 1998. “Since then,” she says, “my favorite trip is always my last one. When I travel with students, I love to watch their reaction when they see an ancient ruin for the first time or visit the Poet’s Corner at Westminster Abbey and cry for joy. Some of the best memories are not on the itinerary; they are serendipitous. Even getting lost and finding our way back is an adventure.”

Please come and join us on Monday to congratulate Mrs. Pickle on her much deserved award and to be entertained by her presentation. A reception will follow. Information on 2008 Travel Abroad, which is also open to the community, will also be available at the presentation.

Judy Wiggins is head of the English Department at Copiah-Lincoln Community College’s Natchez campus.