Dan ’01 and Gretchen ’00 Huwe pictured with their children in 2020.
For many students at St. Cloud State University, studying through the education abroad program at the Alnwick Castle in England offers a unique opportunity to live and take classes inside a castle.
For Dan ’01, ‘11 and Gretchen ’00, ’13 Huwe, it offered them much more than that.
The pair of St. Cloud State graduates, who now work as staff members at their alma mater, first met in Alnwick when they studied at the castle while attending SCSU and have been together ever since.
“We were a small group of 29. Eventually you get to know everyone on your program,” Gretchen said. “Through a bit of matchmaking trickery, unauthorized castle exploration and the romance of living in that beautiful place, our story began.”
The Huwes were introduced to Alnwick in different forms, but when they learned they could study abroad at the castle, they knew they didn’t want to pass that opportunity up.
Dan ’01 and Gretchen ’00 Huwe pictured together in front of the Alnwick Castle in 1996.
For Dan, he really enjoyed reading Shakespeare in high school. In one of his favorite plays, “Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2,” the character Henry Hotspur was associated with the Alnwick Castle and the Percy family. That sparked Dan’s interest in taking advantage of studying in that same location.
For Gretchen, her mother had stayed at the castle in 1992 while participating in a nurse exchange program. After hearing her mother speak so highly of that experience, Gretchen too wanted to see what Alnwick had to offer.
Through the Alnwick program, St. Cloud State students are offered the unique opportunity to immerse themselves in British culture while living and studying in a community that SCSU has partnered with since 1976. Students can also apply for the Alnwick England Study Abroad Scholarship, which is given to students who will be studying in Alnwick in the semester-long program.
The Alnwick program was a life-changing experience for the Huwes, both in their academic and personal lives. And they want to help give back to future students to allow them to create their own memories in England and at the castle.
“For our family, the Alnwick program was the beginning of our lives together and a very fond reminder of the incredible change and self-discovery that is a cornerstone of a college education,” Dan said. “We feel it’s important to help future students have a similar experience. We were fortunate to have these experiences many years ago, but it took the support of others to make it feasible for us back then. The Alnwick program needs support more than ever and it’s up to people like us to be the ones to step up and give back to SCSU and the Alnwick program.”
To make a gift in support of the Alnwick England Study Abroad Scholarship visit www.stcloudstate.edu/impact and please note Alnwick England Scholarship Fund as gift designation. Thank you for your support!
