Here is a brief introduction to the Geographers on the trip! Everyone on this list played a major role in the research and history that is presented on this site, and have demonstrated dedication and scholarship in their research. If you have any questions about what is presented on this site, odds are good that one of these people has an answer for you. So feel free to contact us!
Name: Tanner Borgen
Hometown: Red Wing, Minnesota
Age: 20
Major: Geography
Reasons for taking this class:I have never been out of the United States before and I took advantage of the opportunity to take this class which involves a 10 day trip to France.
Interests after the trip: The battle of Verdun became my main interest after the Trip. I was fascinated by the battle and the way our tour guide, Christina Holstein, described it. It was really a very cool experience to actually be on the battle field and see some of the trenches and forts that the German’s and French fought in.
Biggest Culture Shock: There were many culture shocks that I encountered on this trip. The amount of people who smoke cigarettes was astonishing to me. I want to say that over half of the population smokes cigarettes. Also the dirtiness of France. To me it seemed like the French do not really care that much about sanitation as the bathrooms were not clean, dog waste on the streets and flies in homes and restaurants.
Twitter: @TheRealTborgs
Email: b[email protected]
Blog: Geography of the Western Front
Story Maps: France Trip 2013, WWI France Trip (requires Google Earth browser plug-in, free download here)
Hometown: Red Wing, Minnesota
Age: 20
Major: Geography
Reasons for taking this class:I have never been out of the United States before and I took advantage of the opportunity to take this class which involves a 10 day trip to France.
Interests after the trip: The battle of Verdun became my main interest after the Trip. I was fascinated by the battle and the way our tour guide, Christina Holstein, described it. It was really a very cool experience to actually be on the battle field and see some of the trenches and forts that the German’s and French fought in.
Biggest Culture Shock: There were many culture shocks that I encountered on this trip. The amount of people who smoke cigarettes was astonishing to me. I want to say that over half of the population smokes cigarettes. Also the dirtiness of France. To me it seemed like the French do not really care that much about sanitation as the bathrooms were not clean, dog waste on the streets and flies in homes and restaurants.
Twitter: @TheRealTborgs
Email: b[email protected]
Blog: Geography of the Western Front
Story Maps: France Trip 2013, WWI France Trip (requires Google Earth browser plug-in, free download here)
Name: Lee Fox
Hometown: Appleton, WI
Age: 23
Major: Geography
Why you took the class: Trip to France yo.
Interests after field trip: The history and general information on the Forts surrounding Verdun. I bought three of Christina Holstien's books and am doing my final project on the Battle of Verdun, specifically focusing on Fort Vaux and Fort Douaumont.
Biggest culture shock: Too much coffee. I need something to drink in the morning that's not coffee.
Blog: The Rusty Shovel
Story Map: UWEC Geography Field Seminar: France 2013, Fortifications of Verdun
Hometown: Appleton, WI
Age: 23
Major: Geography
Why you took the class: Trip to France yo.
Interests after field trip: The history and general information on the Forts surrounding Verdun. I bought three of Christina Holstien's books and am doing my final project on the Battle of Verdun, specifically focusing on Fort Vaux and Fort Douaumont.
Biggest culture shock: Too much coffee. I need something to drink in the morning that's not coffee.
Blog: The Rusty Shovel
Story Map: UWEC Geography Field Seminar: France 2013, Fortifications of Verdun
Name: Blake Johnson
Hometown: Spooner, WI
Age: 21
Major: Geography (Comprehensive)
Why you took the class: To travel to Europe and learn more about WWI
Interests after Field Trip: The history behind each battle and seeing how that affected the geography of the land.
Biggest Culture Shock in France: Ordering food in restaurants and the waiter not speaking a word of English.
Blog: Geography of the Western Front
Story Map: Day 2 on the Western Front, Memorials of WWI (requires Google Earth plug-in)
Hometown: Spooner, WI
Age: 21
Major: Geography (Comprehensive)
Why you took the class: To travel to Europe and learn more about WWI
Interests after Field Trip: The history behind each battle and seeing how that affected the geography of the land.
Biggest Culture Shock in France: Ordering food in restaurants and the waiter not speaking a word of English.
Blog: Geography of the Western Front
Story Map: Day 2 on the Western Front, Memorials of WWI (requires Google Earth plug-in)
Name: Ellen Mattila
Hometown: Green Bay, WI
DOB: November 18, 1991
Major: Broadcast Journalism
Why you took the class: I took this class because I am interested in world history and I wanted to make a series of short documentaries about the trip and WWI that would set me apart from other journalism students.
Interests after Field Trip: After the trip I became interested in the propaganda footage from WWI because most of the video from that era was shot for propaganda purposes.
Biggest Culture Shock in France: My biggest culture shock was actually a pleasant surprise. In the rural villages a truck carrying delicious, fresh bread drives through every morning. People come out to buy their bread for the day. I love the idea of the morning bread truck, and if we had them in the states I would probably only eat bread.
Blog: Ellen's Western Front Adventure
Story Map: Tour of the Western Front (requires Google Earth plug-in)
Hometown: Green Bay, WI
DOB: November 18, 1991
Major: Broadcast Journalism
Why you took the class: I took this class because I am interested in world history and I wanted to make a series of short documentaries about the trip and WWI that would set me apart from other journalism students.
Interests after Field Trip: After the trip I became interested in the propaganda footage from WWI because most of the video from that era was shot for propaganda purposes.
Biggest Culture Shock in France: My biggest culture shock was actually a pleasant surprise. In the rural villages a truck carrying delicious, fresh bread drives through every morning. People come out to buy their bread for the day. I love the idea of the morning bread truck, and if we had them in the states I would probably only eat bread.
Blog: Ellen's Western Front Adventure
Story Map: Tour of the Western Front (requires Google Earth plug-in)
Name: Zachery Orr
Hometown: Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin
Age: 20
Major: Criminal Justice
Why you took the class: I took this class because I love to travel; I thought it would be a great opportunity to experience something that I have never seen before, and I am was very interested to learn more about World War I.
Interests after Field Trip: After the field trip I was interested in the aviation side of the war and how it revolutionized warfare forever.
Biggest Culture Shock in France: My biggest culture shock in France was how small the personal space was very small compared to U.S. personal space.
Blog: The Western Front in Layman's Terms
Story Map: European Food, WWI Air Raids (requires Google Earth plug-in)
Hometown: Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin
Age: 20
Major: Criminal Justice
Why you took the class: I took this class because I love to travel; I thought it would be a great opportunity to experience something that I have never seen before, and I am was very interested to learn more about World War I.
Interests after Field Trip: After the field trip I was interested in the aviation side of the war and how it revolutionized warfare forever.
Biggest Culture Shock in France: My biggest culture shock in France was how small the personal space was very small compared to U.S. personal space.
Blog: The Western Front in Layman's Terms
Story Map: European Food, WWI Air Raids (requires Google Earth plug-in)
Name: Joey Robertson
Hometown: Good ‘ol Eau Claire
Age: 23
Major: Geography International Emphasis
Why you took the class: A chance to go to the Western Front in France.
Interests after Field Trip: The abandoned buildings and structures that were still present and intact one hundred years later.
Biggest Culture Shock in France: The great quantities of excellent food. Overall a great
Blog: Western Front Blog
Story Map: ESRI Story Mapping, Google Tour Builder (requires Google Earth plug-in)
Hometown: Good ‘ol Eau Claire
Age: 23
Major: Geography International Emphasis
Why you took the class: A chance to go to the Western Front in France.
Interests after Field Trip: The abandoned buildings and structures that were still present and intact one hundred years later.
Biggest Culture Shock in France: The great quantities of excellent food. Overall a great
Blog: Western Front Blog
Story Map: ESRI Story Mapping, Google Tour Builder (requires Google Earth plug-in)
Name: Zack Robison
Hometown: Hudson, WI
Age: 22
Major: Geography
Why you took the class: I did not know much about the Great War before taking this class beyond some general knowledge. This class was going to be a fun way to learn more about the First World War, and provide me an opportunity to develop some GIS skills while I was at it.
Interests after Field Trip: I had never expected the War to be as interesting to me as it turned out to be. I was fascinated by the ways in which people memorialize the fighting and those that lost their lives after the war was over, with the memorials and parks that people built. It surprised me that nearly one hundred years after the conflict, there are still thousands of pilgrims to certain sites.
Biggest Culture Shock in France: The food, however cliche this may be to say, was amazing. Lunch and dinner I felt obligated to eat until I hated myself, because to have food consistently that tasteful every day was worth the cost of the plane tickets itself. Except, strangely, breakfast. Breakfast is a quiet affair in Alsace-Lorraine.
Blog: Bled White
Story Map: Somme-Verdun Story Map, Three Million Souls (requires Google Earth plug-in)
Hometown: Hudson, WI
Age: 22
Major: Geography
Why you took the class: I did not know much about the Great War before taking this class beyond some general knowledge. This class was going to be a fun way to learn more about the First World War, and provide me an opportunity to develop some GIS skills while I was at it.
Interests after Field Trip: I had never expected the War to be as interesting to me as it turned out to be. I was fascinated by the ways in which people memorialize the fighting and those that lost their lives after the war was over, with the memorials and parks that people built. It surprised me that nearly one hundred years after the conflict, there are still thousands of pilgrims to certain sites.
Biggest Culture Shock in France: The food, however cliche this may be to say, was amazing. Lunch and dinner I felt obligated to eat until I hated myself, because to have food consistently that tasteful every day was worth the cost of the plane tickets itself. Except, strangely, breakfast. Breakfast is a quiet affair in Alsace-Lorraine.
Blog: Bled White
Story Map: Somme-Verdun Story Map, Three Million Souls (requires Google Earth plug-in)
Name: Brandon Schleicher
Hometown: McFarland, WI
Age: 25
Major: Environmental Geography
Reasons for taking Geography of the Western Front: I enrolled in this class after becoming interested in military geography. I wanted to continue my studies on the subject and research some of the environmental consequences of warfare.
Interests after traveling to France: Having seen the magnitude of landscape disturbance on the Verdun battlefield, I am interested in the area's state of ecological recovery.
French culture shock: The biggest culture shock for me involved driving. All of the vehicles have a manual transmission, and many of the roads were just wide enough to fit our full sized van. It kept my heart racing while speeding down rural roads blasting techno with a European driver tailing us. Also, it seems like the speed limits are only recommended. While driving on the highway it wasn't uncommon to be passed while doing 130 kph. One of my goals for the trip was to pass someone myself which didn't happen.
I'm renting a Porsche next time I'm in Europe instead of a utility Volkswagen van.
Blog: Geography of the Western Front
Story map: WWI Landscape Disturbance
Hometown: McFarland, WI
Age: 25
Major: Environmental Geography
Reasons for taking Geography of the Western Front: I enrolled in this class after becoming interested in military geography. I wanted to continue my studies on the subject and research some of the environmental consequences of warfare.
Interests after traveling to France: Having seen the magnitude of landscape disturbance on the Verdun battlefield, I am interested in the area's state of ecological recovery.
French culture shock: The biggest culture shock for me involved driving. All of the vehicles have a manual transmission, and many of the roads were just wide enough to fit our full sized van. It kept my heart racing while speeding down rural roads blasting techno with a European driver tailing us. Also, it seems like the speed limits are only recommended. While driving on the highway it wasn't uncommon to be passed while doing 130 kph. One of my goals for the trip was to pass someone myself which didn't happen.
I'm renting a Porsche next time I'm in Europe instead of a utility Volkswagen van.
Blog: Geography of the Western Front
Story map: WWI Landscape Disturbance
Name: Joseph Hupy
Hometown: Menominee, MI
Age: 38
Education: Michigan State University (PhD), New Mexico State
University (MA), Central Michigan University (BS)
Why you taught the class: To teach students a geographic history of the western front, and to build up my French wine stock pile.
Interests after Field Trip: To utilize Unmanned Aerial Vehicles as a means to generate 3D imagery of the battlefields along the Western Front.
Biggest Culture Shock in France: Dealing with so many restaurants in a major city that are closed on a Sunday.
Website Link: http://people.uwec.edu/hupyjp
Email Address: [email protected]
Hometown: Menominee, MI
Age: 38
Education: Michigan State University (PhD), New Mexico State
University (MA), Central Michigan University (BS)
Why you taught the class: To teach students a geographic history of the western front, and to build up my French wine stock pile.
Interests after Field Trip: To utilize Unmanned Aerial Vehicles as a means to generate 3D imagery of the battlefields along the Western Front.
Biggest Culture Shock in France: Dealing with so many restaurants in a major city that are closed on a Sunday.
Website Link: http://people.uwec.edu/hupyjp
Email Address: [email protected]
Name: Christina Hupy
Hometown: St. Clair Shores, MI
Age: 37
Education: Michigan State University (PhD), New Mexico State University (MA), Central Michigan University (BS)
Why I went on the trip: I have taught two sections of Geog 368 before (led trips to
Honduras and Ecuador) and have experience leading students abroad. I also went
with Joe to France as his field assistant for his PhD work back in 2003 so I
was familiar with all the field sites, people, and villages.
Interests after trip: Leading students on international field experiences and gathering data in the field.
Biggest Culture Shock in France: restaurants not open on Sunday, roundabouts, crazy drivers, and breakfast.
Website Link: http://people.uwec.edu/hupycm
Email Address: [email protected]
Hometown: St. Clair Shores, MI
Age: 37
Education: Michigan State University (PhD), New Mexico State University (MA), Central Michigan University (BS)
Why I went on the trip: I have taught two sections of Geog 368 before (led trips to
Honduras and Ecuador) and have experience leading students abroad. I also went
with Joe to France as his field assistant for his PhD work back in 2003 so I
was familiar with all the field sites, people, and villages.
Interests after trip: Leading students on international field experiences and gathering data in the field.
Biggest Culture Shock in France: restaurants not open on Sunday, roundabouts, crazy drivers, and breakfast.
Website Link: http://people.uwec.edu/hupycm
Email Address: [email protected]
Photos taken by Tanner Borgen, Lee Fox, Blake Johnson, Zack Robison, and Remy de Matos-Machado in Longueval at the Piper's Memorial (header).