Students earned credit over winter break for learning experiences in three locations far from the snow.
In Jamaica, ten students studied colonization, slavery, black identity, and education. They heard lectures by local faculty and served at Blessed Assurance, a home for severely disabled youth, and Alpha Boys School, a vocational and life-skills school for young black men. They also got to celebrate an indigenous people’s emancipation day in the historical Maroon village of Accompong. The course was led by Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development (OLPD) associate professors Muhammad Khalifa and Na’im Madyun.
In Singapore, nine students learned about cultural intelligence with OLPD professor Michael Goh. To experience the rich diversity of Goh’s former home, they interacted with vendors in local markets, visited places of worship, met with eighth-graders at a first-day-of-school assembly, conversed with Singapore’s “invisible” population of migrant construction workers, and observed the consequences of an oil spill on a marine nature preserve. They were also able to visit a youth-led environmental club in nearby Malaysia.
In Kenya, ten undergraduates and assistant professor of kinesiology Daheia Barr-Anderson attended a global seminar focusing on girls’ empowerment in sports and athletics. They enjoyed homestays and traveled to urban and rural locations to learn how physical activity impacts Kenyan youth, especially girls. In Nairobi, they spent time with organizations that teach sports and life skills to youth in need. In the city of Iten—home to many high-altitude training camps—they heard the personal stories of athletes and participated in a training session with an Olympian.
Returning home, Barr-Anderson’s students collected donations to support one of the Kenyan organizations they visited. The response was overwhelming—465 items, from youth cleats to sports bras, that filled 18 boxes, enough to distribute to three more organizations!
“Well done, students!” said Barr-Anderson. “Our lives were made better because of the hospitality and courtesy the Kenyan people showed us.”
Read more about students’ experiences in Kenya on their travel blog.
