Dunn Discovers World Class Student-Athlete Experience Off the Court
8/4/2023 10:13:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Rising junior Kevin Dunn spent nine weeks in Europe before rejoining the men’s basketball team to prepare for the 2023-24 season.
When he's not in the practice gym or in the huddle at Wake Forest men's basketball games, Kevin Dunn can be found working for the Admissions Office giving campus tours to prospective students. He also spent nine weeks in Europe this summer, where he earned six credit hours toward his degree and visited 21 countries.
Dunn is a junior pursuing a Politics & International Affairs and Classics (literature) double-major and is minoring in Communications. While abroad, he spent two weeks in Venice taking an environmental concerns class, along with four and a half weeks in Vienna taking an international immigration class.
When Dunn finished class, he did three weeks of travel conducting research that focuses on the Ukrainian Diaspora - the spread of culture after war. He went to different nations' intake centers and interviewed workers about how their country is handling the Ukrainian Refugee Crisis compared to other European nations. His primary focus was on Greece, Norway and Austria. Now that he has returned, Dunn is currently writing a 30-page paper on his research which is due prior to the start of the fall semester.
With summer workouts held throughout the entire month of June for basketball, Dunn was going to miss a significant amount of time with the team. But the competitiveness of the programs he applied to, along with the importance of getting this experience, was second to none for the Winston-Salem native.
"My brother studied abroad at his school and said it was amazing, so I knew I wanted to do it," said Dunn. "I asked around to other people at Wake and they all loved it, so I had to do it. I knew I couldn't do it with basketball in the fall and the spring, it's just not possible. So, I went to the study abroad office and told them I'm really interested in studying abroad in the summer. They told me about the programs in Venice and Austria and I thought they sounded amazing."
The importance of studying abroad increased tenfold when one of Dunn's professors nominated him for the Richter Scholarship, which he ended up receiving. The Richter Scholarships are available for graduate and undergraduate students for the purpose of globally oriented independent study in foreign countries. Students are encouraged to pursue enriching, broadening projects that have the promise of being life changing.
"After one of my professors nominated me for the scholarship, I looked more into that and saw all the important research that had been done by past recipients. When choosing my own research topic, I wanted to do something really pressing and important in today's society and decided on the war in Ukraine. It's all over the news and is escalating quickly, as there is a refugee crisis occurring world-wide because of this. I wrote my essay for the scholarship about how I want to research that, which includes going to intake centers and talking to people directly. There were three different intake centers I decided to focus on in Greece, Norway and Austria."
One should keep in mind all of this is happening during the spring semester when there are no mandatory practices, and the team gets about three weeks off between the end of school and the start of summer practice. There was a short window where Dunn needed to make decisions and get his plans lined up, and also tell head coach Steve Forbes he was going to miss the first half of the summer.
"With the Richter Scholarship and the two applications for Casa Artom in Venice and the Flow House in Austria, it was pretty competitive. I applied, not thinking I would get in, not being sure, but then I got in and was so excited. Then, I was like 'oh shoot, I have to ask Coach Forbes now.' I knew he would allow me to do it, but I wanted him to know that basketball is still a priority and I want to make it work around this really cool experience that is really important and really matters to me.
"Coach was like, 'this is absolutely amazing,' continued Dunn. "He was very supportive about it – all of the assistant coaches were. I couldn't be more grateful to have a coaching staff that allowed me to do this and have this once in a lifetime experience."
One of the most unique things about Dunn's time abroad involved his academic duties being fulfilled with Wake Forest counterparts. Both classes in Venice and Vienna were taught by Wake Forest professors, and his classmates were all Wake Forest students. This is made possible by the satellite campuses of Casa Artom in Venice and the Flow House in Vienna. All students and the professors live in the houses that are equipped with a classroom, library, study space, kitchen and living quarters.
In the late 1960s, Wake Forest conceived the idea of offering students a semester of study in Europe and in 1971 acquired what was once the American consulate in Venice. In 1974, the University purchased the property outright from the American government, and it was dedicated to the memory of Dr. Camillo Artom, who had fled fascist Italy to ultimately become a doctor and biochemical researcher at Wake Forest's medical school. His wife, Bianca Artom, taught Italian at Wake Forest, and served as the first Director of the Venice Program.
In 1998, Wake Forest purchased a three-story villa in Vienna. The acquisition was made possible through the generous donation of Vic and Roddy Flow of Winston-Salem and the House was named in their honor. Built in 1898, the house was formerly the office of the U.S. Consulate. Flow House is situated in a northwest section of Vienna, one block from the Turkenschanz Park. Located in the prestigious 19th district, the area is well-known for its embassies, diplomatic residences, and distinguished private homes.
With the work week in Venice and Vienna just four days, every weekend was a three-day weekend. That left plenty of time for Dunn to explore and take full advantage of his situation, which he did. Dunn ended his nine-week trip abroad checking off 21 different countries that he was able to visit around his class schedule.
He also had time to spend with his family between Venice and Vienna, finishing his research before he returned home. Dunn spent seven days in Croatia with his mom when classes in Venice were done and spent nine days in Scotland and Ireland with his dad at the conclusion of his classes in Venice and his international research was completed.
"I definitely had a sense of urgency to see as much as I could and do as much as I could. I didn't want to just hang out at the house on the weekends. I wanted to go on a day trip, go to a new country, experience a new culture and new food – all of that good stuff."
When someone visits 21 different countries while taking classes and doing research on an international refugee crisis, there is likely a shift in perspective and a change in how everyday life is viewed. The impact of his trip was not lost on Dunn.
"What I thought was most amazing was hearing the stories of the immigrants and refugees on what they've been through and have had to go through to get to certain countries while still being able to be safe where they are. It really put in perspective how blessed I am to be at Wake Forest and to be on the basketball team. Now, it's like whenever I have a bad day at practice, I think about those people and those stories and it's not as bad. You really just see the world in a different light."
Returning to Winston-Salem with a broader world view, Dunn had some catching up to do, both on the court and with his coach, who was a history major in college.
"When I got back, Coach definitely asked me a bunch of history questions and wanted to know about the places I went to and things I got to see. We actually showed each other photos because he has been to a lot of the same places, so it was pretty fun. Coach Forbes is a world traveler, whether you know it or not. It was fun to talk about all the places we've been. He's a lot more than just a basketball coach, he's a really smart guy as well."
With a six-hour time difference between the world he spent nine weeks exploring and the world he was heading back to, adjusting was one thing Dunn needed to do in order to continue to be successful upon his return.
"I got back at 6 p.m. on a Saturday and was back in lifting at Noon with practice at 1 p.m. on Monday. It was a quick turnaround, but I was glad to be back. There was some jet lag – when I was at practice, it was 7 p.m. in Europe so I was feeling kind of weird. It only took me about two or three days to get back on schedule. Getting back to practice helped a lot."
Dunn and the Deacs will open the 2023-24 slate at home on November 6 against the Elon Phoenix inside Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
