Communications and Marketing Office » Spanish

Goshen College to launch domestic Study-Service Term in local Latino community

jessegb — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 21:41:33 +0000

GOSHEN, Ind. – Northern Indiana may not have the exotic allure of Cambodia or Peru, but after 40 years of sending students around the world for a semester of cross-culture learning, Goshen College is launching a new location for its Study-Service Term (SST) program right in its own backyard.

Starting in the spring of 2010, Goshen College students will have the opportunity to study about, serve in and be immersed in the local Latino culture for a semester in Northern Indiana, which has seen significant demographic changes in the last 20 years. Minority enrollment in Northern Indiana schools – particularly of Latino students – has grown dramatically. For example, in Goshen Public Schools it has grown from 8 percent to 41 percent since 1990.

Director of International Education Tom Meyers said, “Since the inception of the international education program, there have been conversations about a domestic alternative to our international programs. We believe that it is time to develop and implement a new model. We need an immersion experience and direct contact with another culture for students who can’t go abroad.”

Since 1968, when Goshen College was one of the first colleges in the country to require international education to graduate and began the unique semester-long SST, the college also has had the option for students unable to travel abroad – often due to life circumstances and commitments – to fulfill the requirement by taking related elective, on-campus courses. Approximately 20 percent of students take the alternative courses, which are taken when their schedule permits and are spread out over several academic years.

While planning this new program, Meyers conducted several focus groups with students who haven’t been able to participate in the traditional SST program. “This will work better for them and they were very interested and excited about this possibility,” he said. Students will continue to have the option to take alternative courses on campus though.

“For many years Goshen College has rightly placed emphasis on SST as an abroad experience. But when I heard that GC was planning for a domestic SST, I was excited,” said local Latino community leader Gilberto Perez Jr., the Bienvenido Program Director for the Northeastern Center in Ligonier. “Domestic SST will create a space for GC students to listen and learn about what’s happening in their backyard regarding cultural issues related to the Latino community.” Perez and the Northeastern Center have assisted the college in connecting with Latino leaders in Elkhart and Noble County.

Similar to other SST locations in places that have “significantly different” cultures, the students will be required to have taken two semesters of Spanish language study beforehand and will take Spanish classes during the semester. They will also study Latino history, literature and culture; they will process their experiences as a group; they will take field trips to Latino communities in such places as Chicago and Indianapolis; and they will serve in local organizations, church programs or schools that are linked to the Latino community.

Though students will continue to live on campus or at home, the plan is that they will each connect with a local Latino family on a regular basis during the semester. In other SST locations, students live with host families during both the six weeks of study and the six weeks of service.

The impetus for the development of a domestic SST location was funding designated in the 2006 Lilly Endowment grant for the Center for Intercultural Teaching and Learning (CITL), which was created to serve the educational needs of a rapidly increasing Latino immigrant population.

The new program will be phased in with pilot units during the 2010 spring and summer semesters. A half-time coordinator/group leader will be hired to work in conjunction with the International Education Office and CITL on this.

Since the first SST units went to Costa Rica, Jamaica and Guadeloupe in 1968 and began one of the country’s pioneer international education programs, more than 7,000 students and 230 faculty leaders have traveled to 22 countries. The college currently organizes SST units to study and serve in China, Nicaragua, Tanzania, Germany, Senegal, Peru, Jamaica and Cambodia. The program’s uncommon semester-long combination of cultural education and service-learning remains a core part of the general education program, and has earned citations for excellence from U.S. News & World Report, Peterson’s Study Abroad and Smart Parents Guide to College, the John Templeton Foundation and American Council on Education.

Besides providing service to local organizations through the new domestic SST program, Goshen College students continue to student teach in local schools, learn in local hospitals, do internships in local businesses and volunteer in a wide range of settings.

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” “Making a Difference College Guide” and U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu.

May term offers students unique off-campus study experiences

jessegb — Wed, 26 May 2004 18:46:06 +0000

GOSHEN, Ind. – Participating in an excavation in the Southwest, trekking through Amazon rainforests in South America and snorkeling through coral reefs in the Florida Keys are just a few of the ways Goshen College students spent their class time during May term.

May term, a three-week academic term during which students concentrate on one class, offers a wide variety of unique educational experiences. While a number of courses are held on campus, off-campus opportunities are available that take students as far away as Paris and Spain to study subjects such as art, history and business.

A group of students who traveled to Paris, France, learned about European historical works and architecture. The Art in France class, taught by Professor of Art John Blosser, visited major art venues, including the Louvre, Musée d’Orsay and the Pompidou Center. Students experienced the engaging culture of Paris in a variety of ways, from popular night spots with laser shows to an evening at the Opera Bastille for a performance of Don Quixote. “The City of Lights absolutely provided a rich reservoir of art, architecture and cultural engagements that will live with us all for many years,” said Blosser.

Business students enjoyed a unique perspective of business concepts in another country. Offered every other year, the Business in Spain class traveled to Barcelona with Professor of Economics Del Good and studied international marketing, the Spanish financial system and how to manage cultural differences in the business world. In between lectures and study time, the students had a chance to tour the city and regional attractions.

Assistant Professor of Spanish Dean Rhodes traveled with a group of students to the South American country of Peru. The class, titled Lost Empires of Peru, included forays into the rain forest and along the Inca Trail, as well as a trip to Machu Picchu, also known as the Lost City of the Incas.

“It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to see so much of Peru in such a short time,” said Thushan Hemachandra, a senior from Sri Lanka, who especially enjoyed interacting with the local people. Rhodes has led other groups to Peru after becoming familiar with the ecologically and culturally rich country during a term of voluntary service.

In Colorado, Associate Professor of History Jan Bender Shelter and students in the History of the Southwest class explored methods of learning history aside from traditional written archival sources. Along with lectures and museum tours, the class studied recently recovered artifacts of the region and participated in their own excavation. “A lot was packed into three weeks and the students found that this kind of intensive experiential learning is a great way to go,” said Shetler.

Mennonite Women: Voices on Video was a class that took place both on- and off- campus. Students traveled as far away as Los Angeles and New Mexico to videotape interviews with Mennonite women across the United States. The students then returned to Goshen to edit the tapes and produce a final documentary on Mennonite women of color. Pat McFarlane, associate professor of communication, and Ed Cundiff, instructor of broadcast communication, taught the class.

Several courses were also offered away from the main campus, but relatively nearby, at the Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center. In Ornithology, students studied the natural history, taxonomy and conservation of birds and learned visual and aural identification. Students of the Ecology class focused on the dynamics of natural biological organisms and communities. They were also taught the impact of human natural ecosystems and how to live sustainably.

Other biology classes took place in the Florida Keys during May term at the college’s marine biology laboratory and residential facility. Professor of Psychology Duane Kauffman led students through the Marine Biology and Biology of the Sea classes, where they learned about marine life, seeds, plants and insects of the Keys. Students participated in lectures, lab work, boat trips and snorkeling.

There are also three groups of students studying abroad in the college’s summer Study-Service Term (SST) program. The groups are located in Costa Rica, led by Keith and Ann Graber Miller; the Dominican Republic, led by Jim and Lisa Caskey; and Senegal, led by Samuel and Noka Zadi.
- by Melanie Histand

Goshen College, established in 1894, is a four-year residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” Kaplan’s “Most Interesting Colleges” guide and U.S.News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu.

Editors: For more information, contact News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu