J Term Continues its Lifelong Impact on Students

Growing up in the Bronx, Avontae Palmer ’27 had few occasions to leave his neighborhood.

“Coming to Hartwick itself was like traveling, because I had rarely been outside ‘The City,’” he said.

Still, his community was full of diversity — “loud, expressive and vibrant” — which fueled his curiosity to learn about different parts of the world.

Yet, when he heard about Hartwick’s global travel opportunities, he dismissed them at first, thinking they would be unaffordable. However, after classmates and a professor told him about scholarships that make those experiences attainable, he gave them a closer look.

“It came down to asking myself, ‘How bad do you want it?’” Palmer recalls.

Today, having completed his fourth transnational excursion in three years, his answer is clear.

His first trip came during 2024’s J Term, when he studied fermentation and food systems in Portugal. Later that summer, he completed a public health internship in South Africa, where he learned about the history of apartheid and was given a tribal name: Bantu, which means “man of the people.”

“I lived in a true third-world country and learned how very different it was from America,” the sociology major shared. “I learned the Wollof language and played soccer barefoot outside. In some ways, it reminded me of the Bronx.”

Finally, this J Term he traveled to southern Spain, where he was immersed in the art and culture of cities like Sevilla, Granada and Córdoba. Palmer’s passion for international travel and immersive learning has grown with each experience — but none of it would have been possible without the scholarships and other funding sources he has been afforded.