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By
Sam Maas
Harlaxton College Web Design Student
Thursday, April 10, 2008
On a fateful fall day in 1992, sophomore Peter Weiss came through the front gate of Harlaxton Manor. He knew his first semester of study abroad would change his life, but he didn't know the changes would be felt for generations.
Now Peter Weiss is a psychology professor at the University of Hartford in Connecticut and travels regularly to Europe with his wife, Kim Weiss. “I really kind of feel in love with Britain," he said on return visit to Harlaxton this semester, "so we try to come back to Europe every year.”
Harlaxton College, he said, “taught me that America is not the whole world and humbled me quite a bit.”
But for Kim Weiss, this year’s visit was the first time she got to see the manor, she said. “It’s kind of weird coming here for the first time because for a decade I’ve been hearing stories of this place.”
When he came to Harlaxton in 1992, Weiss was not a student at the University of Evansville, but while he was visiting his roommate from Harlaxton in Evansville, the roommate introduced him to Kim, who was a UE student. “It was a perfect match, as far as roommates go," Weiss said. "He even ended up being my best man in our wedding.”
For many people the idea of finding a best friend in four months seems a bit ridiculous, but bonds form quickly and tightly at Harlaxton, Weiss said. “It’s not every day that you can just go to Moscow with one of your friends. That’s the type of thing that helps make friendships so close.”
Soon after Weiss returned from Harlaxton, his younger sister followed him to Harlaxton and traveled abroad as well. Now, 15 1/2 years later, his father, UE psychology Professor William Weiss, is teaching at Harlaxton for the first time -- and probably the last. William Weiss, 70, is retiring from UE at the end of this semester at Harlaxton.
“I visited before when my children were attending, but I had never gotten the chance to teach," said Weiss, whose wife, Judith, also visited Harlaxton for a week this semester. "This year was the first year I could teach at Harlaxton, and I’m very glad I got the chance to experience it.”
In his eyes, the whole experience has less to do with travel and being in a foreign country and more to do with the way Harlaxton brings together students from all over the United States, he said. “The diversity isn’t national or ethnic, it’s a diversity of schools.”
He says that while he watched his son and daughter grow into much more internationally oriented students, he knew that the “Harlaxton Experience” was worth every pound he sent to them.
“Harlaxton is a great experience," the elder Weiss said. "It is a way for young people to get introduced to the world in a good and supportive atmosphere, and it encourages them to grow and learn long after they return to American soil.”
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Father and son psychology professors William and Peter Weiss.
(Photo submitted)
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Judith Weiss, wife of William and mother of Peter.
(Photo submitted)
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University of Evansville alumna Kim Weiss, who married Peter Weiss after his roommate from Harlaxton introduced them.
(Photo submitted)
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