In early January 2019, four (4) students (Julie Marie Cagno, Meredith Ann Revel, Emily Candler, and Katie Veronica Beazley) and 2 lecturers ( Dr. Jeanne Sue Westmoreland - Group Leader; and Prof. Laura Schreck Byland) from School of Art of Stamford University visited University of Pelita Harapan (UPH) to join the Musical Theatre Workshop of the Conservatory of Music (CoM) UPH for a cross-cultural interchange. They also visited some schools under the Yayasan Pendidikan Pelita Harapan (YPPH).  Their educational trip also took them to Bandung, Yogyakarta and in around Jakarta.

Katie Veronica Beazley, said that visiting UPH always gave her a meaningful experience, “I can interact with UPH students without words, but using the technical body language movement in theatre and they can understand perfectly.” Laura Schreck Byland, Faculty Staff School of Arts, Theatre for Youth, sees this visit as a way to build relationships and community between UPH and Stamford University, to bridge the culture gap between the universities. “It’s possible that there will be a chance to direct a project together between Stamford and UPH in the near future.” added Laura.

Claudya Christina, the student of CoM 2015 citing the benefit gained from the visit remarked, “This is a special experience where I can learn musical theater from different perspectives and see directly the learning style from another university in a different country”.

It is expected that a lot of similar activities will be held at UPH, committed in its pursuit to excellence in education and promoting a multi-cultural campus.