Don Riley, academic adviser in CEHD Student Services, and Nate Whittaker, TRIO Student Support Services adviser, received U of M Global Programs & Strategy Alliance (GPS) travel grants. Riley traveled this month to Argentina to meet with the program staff for the Learning Abroad Center’s “Language and Culture in Buenos Aires” program.  Riley’s goal is to create an embedded program in which students take the APPS Going Global class in the A term of a spring semester and then spend spring break putting their tools to use in Argentina.  Designed as a first experience abroad, the course is meant to expose students to the variety of reasons students go abroad:  language study, cultural immersion, internships and service learning, and regionally-specific coursework

Whittaker’s grant will bring Anthea Jansen to the U of M in October 2015. Since 2010, Jansen has conducted the service-learning component of Whittaker’s South Africa global seminar at Afrika Tikkun, where she oversaw many of the social and youth services. Jansen is also a trainer for the South African National Association of Child Care Workers and is starting a new after-school program with Whittaker in poverty-torn areas of Cape Town titled “Bridges.” She has several years of experience working in Delft Township, known for its substandard schools, lack of jobs, and high rates of crime, HIV/AIDS, and tuberculosis. While at the U of M, Jansen will be learning about best practices in program development, speaking, and meeting others who have a vested interest in collaboration, sharing expertise and knowledge, and developing partnerships with numerous South African programs and institutions.