Kristina Onder said she was in bed one night thinking about writing assignments for her students when the idea of working with Honor Flight hit her.
“I like things different all the time, I like change a lot,” Onder said. “So, I had heard about Honor Flight and all of a sudden I just thought, ‘my students could go as guardians and interview them on the way and while [the veterans] tour the memorial and then write up the story.”
She said she had heard about Honor Flight before and she liked what they did.
“Honor Flight originated in Springfield and their aim is to take take World War II veterans to World War II memorials in Washington D.C.,” Onder said.
Onder, an assistant English professor, said immediately after the idea hit her she went right to her computer and typed up the grant proposal. The idea was accepted and a grant from the Ohio Humanities Council provided the money necessary for the classes to participate.
Onder said everyone at Sinclair is supporting and likes the idea, but getting an idea off the ground takes time.
“Everyone’s so excited about it but there are so many steps,” Onder said. “But we’re going.”
Onder works with Bill Kamil, an associate professor of History and together they coordinate the trip.
“We have a learning communities class, an English and a History class paired together,” Onder said. “We have about ten students and we’re going on Oct. 24 and Nov. 13.”
The trips are separate, she said.
“The students are really excited,” Onder said. “They’re preparing their questions now and doing some research.”
The experience of seeing the veterans moved Onder, she said. She said the trip literally changes the lives of the students and the veterans.
“The amazing thing is how quickly you get to know them in such a short period of time,” Onder said. “You’re caring for them, pushing wheelchairs, helping them with food.”
“And then you’re standing there as they’re looking at a witness to what they went through,” Onder said. “My veteran said, ‘I can’t see very well, do you mind reading the inscription on the memorial to me?’ So here I am reading these just beautiful words and pieces of poetry from Eisenhower, Truman and McArthur.”
“It was just beautiful for me,” Onder said. “And it just made the war seem real. And my students felt the same way. I was kind of worried that I was excited about something that wouldn’t translate to my students, but instead they truly are affected by it.”
Onder said the veterans would tell little stories. Her veteran was a dancer, and he’d tell her about dances he went to in Paris on leave.
“It wasn’t what I expected [to hear about],” Onder said. “But it was much more meaningful than what I expected.”
Onder said students can receive honors and service learning credits from the class, and should future students interested should e-mail her.
There is a purpose to the class, Onder said.
“I feel like a teacher in the truest sense of the word,” Onder said.