BVU World Traveler Ready to Lead High School Classes
Ida Rogers-Ferguson will take what she learned during her visits to seven foreign countries while a student at BVU and apply those experiences to her high school social studies classes.
As a Buena Vista University student, Ida Rogers-Ferguson traveled to Poland, Austria, Germany, Greece, Israel, and the Czech Republic. She made her way to Auschwitz, Jerusalem, and Bethlehem.
As winner of the University’s prestigious J. Leslie Rollins Fellowship, she journeyed to the University of Edinburgh in Edinburgh, Scotland, last summer to learn all she could about place-based learning.
And when her BVU softball playing career came to an end, Rogers-Ferguson found herself in a bus while riding 27 hours from Arizona back to the campus in Storm Lake, one bizarre product of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was definitely memorable,” says Rogers-Ferguson, who played third base for the Beavers.
“I know that after I leave BVU, I’ll really miss the relationships I’ve built with faculty members, friends, and my teammates. That said, I’m also very thankful for all the experiences I’ve had.”
Ida Rogers-Ferguson
Rogers-Ferguson, a native of Heron Lake, graduated from BVU in May. Armed with a degree in history education, she’s preparing to start her teaching career as a high school social studies teacher for the Henning Public School District in Henning, Minn., carrying with her a wealth of knowledge gleaned from experiences across the country and the world.
“I had classes with people from all over the world,” Rogers-Ferguson says. “I ended up making friends with other Americans, as well as with students from Denmark, Canada, and Australia.”
Her classroom experiences in the summer of 2019 were augmented by a trip to Loch Ness, a touristy area known for the Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster. A Harry Potter fan, Rogers-Ferguson also explored Greyfriars Kirkyard, a cemetery of inspiration for Edinburgh resident J.K. Rowling, author of the popular fiction series.
Rogers-Ferguson, who had never been in an airplane before coming to college, completed previous BVU travel experiences in Europe, where she toured several sites of the Holocaust, and on the islands of Greece.
“I’ve been on the stairs leading to the gas chambers at Birkenau, standing where people basically took their last steps,” she says. “I’ve also seen the Parthenon and the birthplace of Jesus.”
Rogers-Ferguson also served as a member of BVU History Club, ALPS, the Student Athletic Advisory Committee and BV Buddies, a program she coordinated with local schools.
And now, she’s ready for the challenge of leading her own high school students in Henning.
“I know that after I leave BVU, I’ll really miss the relationships I’ve built with faculty members, friends, and my teammates. That said, I’m also very thankful for all the experiences I’ve had,” she says. “BVU has been so much more than I thought it would be.”