GOSHEN, Ind. – Four years ago, Heather Zimmerman came to Goshen College from Guam to study American Sign Language. Now, she has graduated and is taking her passion for ASL to give back to her native island.

After two years of planning, Zimmerman, a 2011 graduate from Barrigada, Guam, who majored in ASL, along with her friend and colleague, Naomi Webster, a 2011 graduate from Bloomfield Hills, Mich., who majored in ASL, led Guam’s first-ever day camp for deaf children for a week during the summer.

“Deaf children in Guam often get isolated and are deprived of the same learning opportunities as hearing children,” said Zimmerman. That’s why she wanted to bring the same atmosphere of intentional learning and fun that she learned from working at several deaf camps in the United States to deaf children in Guam.

So Zimmerman and Webster combined forces and began planning Guam’s Own Deaf Children’s Day Camp. “We work really well together, because Heather has the big ideas, and I’m good with organizing things and figuring out how to make things work,” said Webster.

Zimmerman used her connections to help make their ideas become reality. The camp was held at Southern Christian Academy in Guam, where she previously attended. A member of a local church volunteered to shuttle the campers to and from the school every day. She compared it to the loaves and fish miracle when, a day before the camp started, a local church member volunteered to provide lunch for the campers every day.

They used yet another connection to get other staff members for the camp. Zimmerman’s parents run a nonprofit organization which provides residential recovery counseling for women with substance abuse issues. Several women from the organization signed up to help at the deaf camp in order to fulfill community service hours. Though the women weren’t fluent in ASL, they helped lead activities.

“Helping with the camp really helped the women see outside of themselves, and helped inspire them,” said Zimmerman.

Every day, five deaf children came to the camp, in addition to five to 10 curious hearing children. “Some kids would sneak out of the summer classes that were being held at the academy to join in the camp activities,” said Zimmerman, “but we told them they had to sign if they wanted to participate.”

Having both hearing and deaf children there made the activities more challenging, since they were planning on using only ASL to run the camp. But they figured out ways to include both deaf and hearing children by playing games, swimming, learning about deaf art and literature, and having time to socialize.

In the end, the camp was well received with many people eager to help out. “Awareness wasn’t our original goal; the focus shifted once we got the camp running, but we were able to handle it,” said Zimmerman. “Our goal was to inspire deaf children, but we ended up inspiring hearing people, too.”

Zimmerman and Webster have even bigger ideas for next summer. They want to expand the camp to be two weeks long and to increase the number of deaf participants. Until then, the two will continue to be involved in deaf culture. This fall, Zimmerman is beginning a two-year master’s program in international development at Gallaudet University (the world’s only university strictly designed for deaf and hard of hearing students in Washington, D.C.). Webster will be returning to Goshen in the fall to complete her final semester of ASL studies.

“It’s been a faith type of journey from my dream that started two years ago,” said Zimmerman. “God opened up the doors for us and provided many miracles.”

To learn more about Guam’s Own Deaf Children’s Day Camp, email dcdcguam@gmail.com.

– By Alysha Landis

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College Acting News Bureau Coordinator Alysha Bergey Landis at (574) 535-7762 or alyshabl@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.

GOSHEN, Ind. – While most college students spent their summers working a summer job and taking a break from studies, four Goshen College students and recent alumni spent the summer riding around the African savanna in a Land Rover, spotting elephants and studying fire ecology with their professor.

For six weeks this summer, the students had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to live in Kenya as they worked alongside Associate Professor of Biology Ryan Sensenig on his fire ecology research. The four students were: Laura Schlabach, a 2010 graduate from Goshen who majored in communication and environmental science; David Stoesz, a senior biology and environmental science major from Indianapolis, Ind.; Tori Yoder, a 2011 graduate from Goshen who majored in biology and environmental science; and Luke Zehr, a junior biology and environmental science major from Tiskilwa, Ill. The students worked at the Mpala Research Center in Laikipia, Kenya, and helped re-survey burns that Sensenig completed in 2004-05 when he was doing his doctoral research there.

The research
The Fire Ecology Research Team surveyed more than 13,000 trees and gained some insight about local sustainable development. “I think the team returned with a better idea of the process of scientific research, but they also spoke highly of the opportunity to work with the local community and tackle questions of conservation and sustainable development,” said Sensenig. “Working in Laikipia, Kenya, affords us the opportunity to wrestle with how to do conservation of wildlife, while simultaneously working to address needs in the local human community.”

Sensenig’s previous research included conducting burns in different ranches in Laikipia. Fire is a natural part of savanna ecosystems, as it removes old plant parts and allows young, tender plants to grow. His previous research also tracked different animals’ grazing patterns.

From that research – recently published in the journal “Ecology” – he and his team found that smaller animals preferred the fresh re-growth that sprouted after the burns took place, and larger animals continued to graze mostly in unburned territories. In this way, they found that fires could increase diversity.

The students’ research involved tracking which habitat animals chose to graze in, as well as surveying whistling thorn trees at the old burn sites. As the group surveyed the trees, they assessed the tree growth, the species of ants that resides in the tree and evidence of elephant browsing.

When Sensenig and his team began recording post-burn data years ago, they found that elephants seemed to push over trees more in burned areas than unburned areas. The students continued investigating the role of elephants, in the hopes of finding out whether elephants choose to browse more heavily in burned areas and why. This area of research will most directly affect the large cattle ranches present in certain areas of Kenya.

An intercultural experience
Living at the Mpala Research Center allowed the students to interact with researchers from all over the world. “Living at the Mpala Research Center was an exiting time of learning more about the international scientific community, and how effective collaborating with researchers of diverse backgrounds can be in strengthening a team’s approach to a project,” said Zehr.

But the students’ time in Kenya wasn’t only spent surveying trees. The times in between being out in the field researching were filled with hiking and animal spotting. Travelling to different burn sites in the Land Rover often provided opportunities for animal sightings. Herds of elephants would obstruct their path, gazelles leapt in the distance and lion cubs played not far away.

“I now have a better appreciation for the role of curiosity in the research process,” said Yoder. “Becoming curious about one’s surrounding and asking a lot of questions is essential to both designing and implementing a research project. Whether I return to Kenya to continue investigating these questions someday or move on to other projects, I hope to maintain an avid curiosity about the ecosystems of which I am a part.”

Beyond the awe of the wildlife, the students had the opportunity to get to know the Kenyan people and culture, too. One day, a native Kenyan and a research assistant for the team invited the students and Sensenig’s family to his home for a Maasai naming ceremony for his youngest daughter.

“It was a tremendous honor to be invited to this special event as honored guests, and was one of the most memorable days of my time in Kenya,” wrote Schlabach in a post on the group’s blog. “The experience highlighted for me again the importance of respect, family and prioritizing time and energy into relationships with people from different cultures around the world.”

– By Alysha Landis

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.

>>Read more about Irene Bornman and her quilts.
>>View a slideshow of photos from the exhibit.
>>Watch a video about Bornman’s quilt evangelism.
Photo, video and story provided by Mennonite Mission Network.

GOSHEN, Ind. – Irene Bornman, of Goshen, brought pieces of Senegal back to Indiana with her when she returned from her nine-year stay in Senegal. Using locally acquired fabrics from markets in Senegal and Mali, Bornman made a variety of comforters and quilts, which will be on display in Goshen College’s Good Library Gallery starting May 8 in the exhibit, “Senegal Fabric in Indiana Patchwork: The Quilts of Irene Bornman.”

The opening reception for the exhibit will be on Sunday, May 8 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Good Library Gallery. At 7 p.m., Bornman will comment on her quilts. The quilts will remain on display until July 15, and will be displayed for a second time from Aug. 15 to Sept. 5.

The first of the comforters and quilts that Bornman, a member of Life Spring Community Church, made were sold in the United States to raise money for missions. Bornman had lived and served in Senegal with a church planting team under Mennonite Mission Network and Friends of the Wolof. As she continued quilting, Bornman shared her skills with Senegalese women and began making quilts for her (then) 12 grandchildren back in the United States. Eight of her grandchildren were born while she was in Senegal, so she decided to make quilts for them as a way for them to get to know her and her passion for sharing her faith by serving others.

Bornman said, “I began to make quilts, and while I sewed and quilted I’d pray for their salvation and future spouse and family. I also decided that at age 12, they could choose one [quilt] for themselves.”

Most of the quilts in this exhibit were made for her grandchildren. Currently, Bornman has 14 grandchildren, and by May 2011 she will have 15. By the time the exhibit opens in May, five grandchildren will have selected their quilts.

Bornman said the quilts in this exhibit exemplify one of her guiding mottos for life: “Work with what you have.” In Senegal, this meant that she could design and make quilts even if they didn’t fit the norm for quilt making in Indiana. Bornman made all of the quilt tops in Senegal and quilted three of them there. The outline of the country of Senegal is quilted into the corner of each quilt.

Rebecca Haarer is the curator for the exhibit, which is sponsored by the Mennonite-Amish Museum Committee of Goshen College, supporting the Quilt Gardens program of the Elkhart County Visitors and Convention Bureau.

The Good Library Gallery is located in the north end of the basement of the Good Library. When classes are in session, the gallery hours are: 7:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Monday through Thursday; 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays; 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays; and 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Sundays. Hours vary during academic breaks, summer and holidays. For gallery hours, call (574) 535-7418.

– By Alysha Landis

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.

Photo by David Zwier '12

By Richard R. Aguirre

Editor’s note: In the Fall of 2010, 19 Goshen College students engaged in a fascinating Study-Service Term in Egypt under the leadership of Director of International Education Tom Meyers. After a semester, the students returned home on the eve of a turning point of history: the popular uprising that forced the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak, who had ruled Egypt for three decades. Four of the students have shared their transformative experiences.

Goshen College students Ben Baumgartner, Elizabeth “Lizzy” Diaz, Rachel Friesen and Andrea Kraybill decided to participate in Goshen College’s Student-Service Term (SST) in Egypt for many reasons.

Baumgarter ’12, a Bible and religion major from Hesston, Kan., had spent part of his childhood in Egypt, while his parents were there for Mennonite Central Committee, but he now wanted to experience the country by himself.

Diaz ’13, a nursing major from Goshen, wanted to go live in a country with a rich and unique history and culture and was interested in learning more about the Arab world.

Friesen ’12, an art and peace, justice and conflict studies double major from Filley, Neb., wanted to learn Arabic, visit the Middle East and study in Egypt to satisfy her interest in art history and anthropology.

Kraybill ’11, an art major from Elkhart, had spent time in Spanish-speaking countries, but wanted to push beyond her comfort zone and experience a totally unfamiliar culture. She also was eager to learn about the current state of Egypt.

Despite those different motivations, all four say they had life-changing experiences and would highly recommend other Goshen students follow their footsteps when Egypt SST again is offered, tentatively in the fall of 2012.

“Egypt is unique to SST in that the majority of people are Muslim, which means being awakened to the call to prayer early in the morning, seeing women in the full niqab (veil), and listening to people chant the Qur’an on the Metro,” Baumgartner said. “It is fascinating to get a glimpse into this very different world.”

Diaz said going to Egypt could help students break stereotypes about Egypt and “bridge the gap between us and the Arab world. I would not change my experience for anything and I would love for other students to not just take my word for it, because there aren’t words to describe it right, but to experience it themselves.”

Ben, Lizzy, Rachel and Andrea shared further opinions about Egypt SST via a far-reaching question-answer exchange.

How was your experience compared to what you thought it would be like?

Ben: I thought that I might be more interested in all the historic places that we visited, which were certainly impressive, but for me the most important part was getting to make friends there, and see what life is like for guys my own age in Egypt. The thing that surprised me the most, though, was getting an insight into the world of Coptic Christians, and learning about the struggles they face living as a minority in a Muslim majority country.

Lizzy: Before I left, I was excited and anxious for the trip. However, I was also nervous and worried that my experience would not be a good one. I felt like I was going to be thrown into something I totally wasn’t ready for, and I was. However, I adapted very easily and the people there really were warm and hospitable, which helped a great deal. I would absolutely love to go back some day.

Rachel: In a lot of ways, Egypt was exactly what I expected. I knew it would be difficult to live there as a white, western female, though maybe I was not prepared for the extent of the difficulty, but I knew I would at the same time experience amazing hospitality and cultural education. I did not meet as many people as I would have liked until close to the end of my three months there, but those connections were the most meaningful part for me.

Andrea: Intense is the word I use to describe it – intense beauty, brokenness and busyness. I was prepared for a stretching experience, but was probably at a higher level of stress the entire time than I expected. I was faced with extreme hospitality, along with some prejudices against Westerners, but overall had a positive learning experience.

Can you describe an especially valuable learning experience?

Ben: One comment made to me on the playground at our school on service has stuck with me, and I think is unfortunately reflective of how many Egyptians feel about their own country: “If you lived here more than a year you’d know why we want to leave.” Even though from my perspective as a foreigner, Egypt has so much to offer, through talking with people and observing life in Egypt I also see why getting to America continues to be a dream, no matter how impossible, for so many people. A more positive experience I could share is going around Qosayih with Matthew (an MCCer who lived at the same place we did), and stopping in at shops of friends he knew to talk literally for hours. Keeping up with friendships is such an important part to life in Egypt.

Lizzy: I definitely think that my most valuable learning time came through my daily interactions with Egyptians. I learned a lot about the Egyptian culture such as the importance of family and religion. These two encompass Egyptian life for both Muslims and Christians. One thing that sticks out in my mind was a conversation with our Muslim tour guide about the differences between Islam and Christianity and realizing that we are really not that different.

Rachel: Riding the metro every day in Cairo was one of the most valuable learning experiences for me. It gave us real exposure to people of all different classes and diverse Egyptian ethnicities, and it could alternately make me feel the least like a tourist on some days, or the most like an outsider on other days. This was very humbling, but it also allowed me to safely observe the culture around me without feeling as exposed and conspicuous as I did in the street.

Andrea: Teaching English to adults my age and older for one month was a formative experience. I discovered I love to teach, and that having informal conversation “tables” helped us learn about the other’s culture. It was also an opportunity for me to build friendships with Muslims, in addition to the Christians I was living with.

What was a highlight of your service experience?

Ben: I was assigned to helping with English classes at Saint Mena Language School in a small city called Qosayih, six hours south of Cairo. For two of the five weeks though, the Bishop of the diocese in Qosayih had us travel to Anafora, a Coptic retreat center north of Cairo, to help build a stone model of Jerusalem. Between this and a week off of school for an Islamic festival, we never actually taught any English in the school, although we did make friends with a lot of the kids. One of my favorite experiences was going to an after wedding dance party held in an alleyway in Qosayih with two friends I met in Anafora. I got to dance with the bride and groom, and then afterwards we went to my friends’ family’s house and ate some stuffed cabbage rolls, met the family, and rode a donkey.

Lizzy: For service, I was blessed with the opportunity to work in a private Christian school named Modern Salam School in Assuit, Eygpt. I was put in the English classes to assist the teachers in class activities. What they most valued was the chance to just hear a native English speaker. The highlight of my service was the student interactions with one another. Although it was a Christian school, there were many Muslim students and I loved to watch the friendships between the Muslims and Christians because it gave me hope for the future. Girls with head coverings sat next to Christian girls and they laughed together, linked arms and shared supplies. It always made me smile.

Rachel: I was living in Beni Suef, working during the day at a nursery school and helping teach an adult English course a few evenings a week. A highlight of this time for me was getting to meet a lot of Muslim women, who were about my age, through the English course. They invited me to their homes, out to cafes, shopping, and even once to a wedding.

Andrea: I did my service in the city of Beni Suef, about 2½ hours south of Cairo. I taught English during the day to elementary and junior high age kids, and in the evening with adults. A highlight was living for two weeks of that time in a Coptic-run girl’s orphanage, with girls who adored me and helped me learn Arabic.

What are some of your main impressions of the Egyptians you spent time with?

Ben: Incredibly hospitable. If I would make even a hint of wanting something somebody would either bring it or help me find it. Also, very close with friends and family; it wasn’t uncommon to see guys walking down the street arm in arm. Lastly, most Egyptians I spent time with were also very religious.

Lizzy: They are very family-oriented and religion-centered. Also, they are very kind and hospitable people. Appearance and status are very important as well.

Rachel: Egyptians are very busy and active all the time. This is necessary because of the economic reality, but even outside of work they are constantly talking, moving, playing games, etc. I never had time to get bored there, and if I looked the slightest bit tired, I had five people ask me what was wrong and how they could help me love Egypt more.

Andrea: Hospitable, generous, humorous, patient and used to waiting, desire to learn English and travel to other countries. Many are looking for jobs or continuing education, as unemployment is high.

How did your experience affect your impressions of Egypt?

Ben: I see it as more of a diverse place than I did before. I know now about ethnic minorities such as the Nubians in the south and the Bedouins in the desert, neither of who care much for the central government, as well as the troubles that Christians experience. Generally, though, my experience taught me the relaxed attitude of Egyptians, and the emphasis they place on relationships. It was great just going to a local ahwa (coffee shop), hanging out for hours having drinks, playing games, and talking with people.

Lizzy: My impression of Egypt dramatically changed after my experience. Before I went, I had the stereotypical impression that I was going to be in the desert with camels everywhere and sand all over. I also had in mind that it was going to be a hostile country that wouldn’t be accepting of foreigners. On the contrary, since most of the cities are on or close to the Nile, they are not in the desert. There is a great deal of sand everywhere but the streets are paved.

Rachel:  I had an impression beforehand of Egypt as a fairly progressive country in the Middle East, and that has changed in some ways after being there. I was expecting some level of poverty and unequal development, but not quite the level of political instability and religious conflict that exists there now. I definitely view it as a country full of extremely deep-seated and complex issues.

Andrea: I was pretty ignorant about modern Egyptian history before going, and felt like I was just scratching the surface of a complex, and often contradicting society. It made me aware of the tensions that exist there today, particularly religiously, but also the rich embracing of life that Egyptians engage in.

In what ways did going to Egypt affect your faith?

Ben: Considering the religious tension in Egypt right now, and seeing the implications of Muslims and Christians being at such odds with each other, being in Egypt made me even more wary than before of dogmatic certitude in faith. I wondered sometimes if Egypt might not be better off without such strong religiosity. At the same time though, I was also inspired by the sincerity of both Muslims and Christians. It left me wondering if it is possible to have such devout religious feelings if one is also open to looking critically at one’s own religion, a question to which I am still trying to work out an answer.

Lizzy: Before going to Egypt, I was struggling with my faith and I expected that Egypt would be a “life changing” experience and that I would somehow have some kind of epiphany that would put everything in place for me. At the beginning, I began to feel disappointed because nothing came, or so I thought. However, slowly I feel like I grew immensely in my faith. For me, it was so helpful to be in an atmosphere where religion is life. Everything that you do revolves around it. Slowly, I think I began to appreciate my relationship with God and not so much my “religion.” Egypt is known for its religious tension. Although I am Catholic, I like to focus more on the fact that I am a huge fan of God and I am happy that I don’t have those tensions interfering with my faith journey.

Rachel: It really made me realize how little I think about my religion in my day-to-day life. My host family and others that I met, both Christian and Muslim, were examples to me of living in a way that constantly incorporates prayer and/or religious identification. This was at times both challenging and inspiring for me in terms of my own faith.

Andrea: I don’t think I’ve had enough time to process all the ways Egypt affected me, but I do know that being there made me think about the deep traditions I draw on as part of my faith. Being surrounded by foreign expressions of worship – both orthodox Christian and Muslim – propelled me to consider different ways of expressing faith. In learning about other religions and denominations, it made me re-examine my own beliefs.

Finally, how has Egypt SST affected your plans for study or your future vocation?

Ben: Well, it made me want to go back, whether be it with MCC or in some other manner. Also, I’d like to continue studying Arabic and maybe put that to use in a career somehow, especially since knowledge of Arabic and the Middle East continues to be of such great importance in our times.

Lizzy: Before I left, I was going into nursing because I was feeling the pressure of needing to choose a major. While in Egypt, I had time to reflect and I realized that this is something I want to do. Also, I have always felt like I am called to serve and my time in Egypt just strengthened that urge. If it is God’s will, I would like to return to Egypt to do some mission work there.

Rachel: I realized I am not quite ready to live overseas yet, but it is definitely something I hope to do in the future. I was surprised that I enjoyed teaching adult English so much, and that has already led me to start considering possibilities of working with immigrant populations or teaching English overseas someday.

Andrea: I continue to desire to live in a multicultural, urban setting, where I can learn from people of diverse backgrounds and help make peace through community-building efforts. I hope to teach someday, in some capacity – be it through a Christian ministry, the visual arts, or English as a second language. I am currently applying to serve overseas through the Mennonite Mission Network.

• Web updates and photos from the Egypt SST group
• Photos of the departure (9/2/10).

GOSHEN, Ind. – As a group of 19 Goshen College students prepared to depart for a semester of study and service in Egypt on Sept. 2 – the first time the college has sent a group to the Middle East – President Jim Brenneman offered them words of encouragement: “This is a historic moment. A little over two years ago we had this dream that one day Goshen College students would be able to bridge that great divide between … the Muslim and the Christian worlds. … It’s an opportunity of a lifetime for you all,” he said. “As-salaamu Aleikum (Peace be unto you).” After a second, the group of students replied, “Wa-Aleikum As-salaam (And unto you, peace).”To prepare for that moment and the coming semester, the students spent the past school year in intensive language study of Arabic with Goshen College Professor of Bible and Religion Paul Keim. Because Egypt is now part of the college’s Study-Service Term (SST) locations, Arabic is offered every year and for credit. In the past, Keim taught classical Arabic informally several times, but it wasn’t for credit and just focused on learning to read the language.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shNNAmdFAVY

During the two semesters in the 2009-10 academic year of the language study, more than 20 students worked on elementary speaking, reading and listening comprehension skills. Since many of them were planning on going to Egypt, they studied Modern Standard Arabic and the Egyptian dialect, which is the most widely known dialect in the Arab world. And though the class was focused on language study, during the spring semester Director of International Education Tom Meyers led Egyptian Friday every week, offering a cultural presentation. Meyers is the leader for the Egypt SST this fall.

By the end of a year of language study, students were ready for intermediate Arabic and able to read simple texts or carry on a simple conversation. Arabic is in the Semitic language family, related to Hebrew and Aramaic. The alphabet is a 28-letter cursive system that is read from right to left. And some sounds in this language are more difficult for English speakers to hear and reproduce.

While taking the Arabic classes, junior business major David Zwier said, “I guess what drives many of us is that moment when it hits home that you can actually read and understand what it says on a page in front of you, whereas one year ago it would have been gibberish.” Zwier is from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

In addition to Keim, Marcelle Al-Zoughbi, a peace, justice and conflict studies major who is from Palestine and for whom Arabic is a first language, was a class assistant and led a conversation lab with the students once a week.

“I am the only Arabic speaker on campus. I love Arabic class the most because I get the chance to share my culture with students and break stereotypes,” said Al-Zoughbi.

Keim, who can read numerous ancient languages and communicate in several modern languages, learned classical Arabic in graduate school, and then spent a summer in Jordan at a language school. “The first time I saw the language written was when I was in college here,” Keim said, who graduated from Goshen in 1978. “It is a beautiful language and the culture is fascinating. The interest is out there in this generation.”

Senior art major Andrea Kraybill, from Elkhart, Ind., said, “Learning Arabic is like deciphering a code. As I continue to learn new words and grammar structure I am excited to be able to understand phrases I hear or see written. A whole world opens up, and I realize I am learning to communicate in a language that millions of people speak, but few in the West understand. I look forward to learning more about Arabic, Egyptian and Islamic cultures, each in their respective dimensions.”

Bordering the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, Egypt is in North Africa and Western Asia. Like other SST locations, the program in Egypt is designed to help students understand the complexities of the cultures that they live in. Since approximately 90 percent of Egyptians are Muslim, students will have opportunities to talk and relate with Muslims and learn from them. Students will spend seven weeks in Cairo, a center of learning, culture and commerce. They will stay at Eman (Faith) Hostel in Helwan, which is a southern suburb of Cairo, and they will commute daily by the Metro (subway) to the ETC language center in Hadayek El Maadi for Arabic and cultural classes. During the second part of the semester, students will have the opportunity to do service.

Zwier said, “I chose to go to Egypt SST, and consequentially learn Arabic, because of the important role that the Middle East plays in global politics and economics. I believe that it is extremely difficult if not impossible to truly get to know a culture at a distance. By immersing myself in Egyptian and Arabic culture I hope to become more compassionate, loving and less affected by the negative stereotypes which western culture has of the Arab world and of Islam.”

Other colleges have study abroad programs in Egypt, but few have programs that are a semester in length and that stay in Egypt the entire time.

– By Jodi H. Beyeler

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.

GOSHEN, Ind. – Sometimes you don’t have to travel thousands of miles in an airplane over oceans to truly encounter another culture. Sometimes you just have to cross the street.

This summer, Goshen College students are participating in the 40-plus year old program Study-Service Term (SST) in Senegal, Peru, Nicaragua – and Northern Indiana. Four college students are participating in the Goshen College Latino Studies Semester in Northern Indiana, the first domestic SST location.

Ana Juarez, the director for the program, said that all four students grew up around here and this is “changing their perspectives on their community, even though it is the same place.”

Sophomore Jair Hernandez, who grew up in Goshen, said, “This program wasn’t set up to be a complete immersion. The purpose is to study a culture that is trying to integrate here. It has opened my eyes to things I wasn’t aware of before. Now I have a different perspective.”

Similar to other SST locations in places that have “significantly different” cultures, the students are studying another language, in this case Spanish. Two of the students are beginners and are learning conversational skills. The more advanced students are learning professional skills, as well as research and literature. In addition, students write weekly journal entries and work on papers and projects.

Junior Ivette Sifuentes, from Elkhart, said that she is enjoying the Spanish classes, the first she has taken as Spanish is her first language. Her teacher is correcting her grammar and helping her not to speak in Spanglish, a mixture of English and Spanish that she grew up with.

Though Hernandez and Sifuentes, as Latino students themselves, are much more familiar with the culture that they are studying this summer, “they are learning their own culture in a different way and have more appreciation for their own culture,” Juarez said. “They are learning more the reasons why different groups immigrated, as well as what people and organizations are already doing.”

Part of that learning comes from regular field trips, guest speakers and cultural events. One month the group met the Fort Wayne Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, attended a quinceanera (a 15-year-old Latina girl’s birthday party) in Michigan, toured Latino businesses in Goshen, explored Chicago’s Mexican and Puerto Rican neighborhoods, participated in an immigration rally in Indianapolis, watched folklorico dancers, heard about the immigration system from different perspectives, and traveled to Toledo, Ohio, to volunteer at a migrant workers camp.

Juarez said she is trying to introduce the students to three distinct groups of Latinos near Northern Indiana: the group in Michiana who are mostly newcomers working in the manufacturing sector, another being the long-term Latino communities with established organizations in urban Chicago, and the last being migrant workers in agricultural settings.

Like students in other study abroad locations, the students in Goshen are paired up with host families, though they meet with them weekly instead of live with them. Senior Kellyn Yoder sometimes goes shopping with her host family and is helping them paint in their new house. “It helps me put a face on the immigration issue,” she said, as she has talked with them about the possible effects of the recent changes in Arizona’s immigration laws.

In addition, the students have the opportunity to do service throughout the three-month program in a position that fits their interests. Hernandez is interested in community organizing and is working to get more Latinos involved with neighborhood associations through his service assignment with La Casa. Though he had “really wanted” to go abroad during college, he ended up deciding that he would rather “help people here where I am from.”

Yoder, an English major, is teaching English and citizenship classes at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Goshen. “The program offers opportunities to be more immersed than I was before,” she said. “This has been really good. I am more involved in the community now and know so much more about this place I grew up in.”

Sifuentes is translating for patients at the Center for Healing and Hope health clinic in Goshen. “I am learning more about the Latino community in Goshen,” she said. “We are going to a deeper level with people and I am seeing needs in the community and what people have to offer. … I have gained a sense of more responsibility [for my community]. As I see needs, I feel more responsible.”

Sophomore Chris Ballge is doing his service assignment at the San Jose Carniceria, where he has opportunities to interact a lot in Spanish with his coworkers and he hears customers speaking the language frequently while he shelves and stocks groceries. He had wanted to study abroad in Peru for a college cross-cultural immersion experience, but he has a family and is very involved in his church, so he couldn’t leave for three months.

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.

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. Minority enrollment in Northern Indiana schools – particularly of Latino students – has grown dramatically in the last 20 years.

– by Jodi H. Beyeler

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.

Related links:

• Goshen College students accessorize to help women in Peru and Uganda, The Truth, 10.26.09.

GOSHEN, Ind. – With 2,000 bracelets, one Goshen College student and dozens of Peruvian women, a town struggling with drugs, gangs and poverty is using art to slow that cycle.

When Rachel Halder, a Goshen College senior from Parnell, Iowa, returned home to the United States from her semester-long Study-Service Term in Peru, with about 200 colorful hand-woven bracelets made by a group of Peruvian teenage girls, she was amazed at how quickly they sold, and how much the money she collected would be able to help the people of the Peruvian coastal town Chimbote, where she spent six weeks serving at a local parish.

“I was definitely surprised at how much it took off and how much people were sincerely interested in the project,” Halder said. “It’s obviously a passion of mine because I have the personal connection to the area, but I’ve been surprised at how supportive others have been. I’ve even had churches contact me saying that they want to help out.”

Halder arrived in Chimbote in the spring of 2008 to an overwhelming smell of fish. Chimbote is one of the most important port cities on the Peruvian coast. However, her focus quickly moved to the stench of poverty surrounding her – Chimbote is one of the poorest cities in Peru with 45 percent of the 400,000 residents living in extreme poverty – through her work with the Parroquia de Nuestra Soccorro (Our Lady of Perpetual Help) parish.

The parish, run by Father Jack Davis and Sister Peggy Byrne, serves the community through programs including social services, infrastructure development, health care, economic development and education. But when Halder, a communication major and women’s studies minor, was asked how she wanted to help at the parish, there was one group not being served – young women.

She told the parish she wanted to start a group like one created to keep young boys off the streets and away from drugs and gangs. Right away boys in the group took her door-to-door to see if girls in the community would be interested in joining the new group, Chicas de la Prevención. That first day, eight girls, ranging in age from12-18 years old, agreed to meet with her regularly.

“I knew I wanted to work with women and they didn’t really have anything for young girls. There were plenty of programs for the boys, but nothing for the girls in the community,” Halder said. “I was hoping the group would last, and so far it has.”

Like the group for boys, Chicas de la Prevención is a prevention group. “Our original goals were to prevent the girls from falling into the traps of other people in the community, like prostitution and teen-age pregnancy, and give them motivation and encouragement to not give into sexual and drug pressures, but also to give them something to do,” Halder said.

“We would just kind of meet and hang out. We would sit around and talk about stuff,” Halder said. “I wanted them to have a support group and friends to keep them company.”

Then a fellow at the parish introduced Halder to a group of women who make souvenirs for tourists, and suggested they teach the girls how to make hand-woven nylon thread bracelets. At that moment, her support group found an entrepreneurial niche.

Halder thought that making bracelets might be used for more than just passing the time. “This was to show them they can make an income doing something besides prostitution,” she said.

So far Halder has been able to follow through. Selling the $5 bracelets to family and friends, and at music festivals, farmer’s markets and the Mennonite Church USA Convention, she has sent more than $6,000 directly to the community in Chimbote and has sold about 2,000 bracelets. The money is used to buy more supplies to keep making bracelets and has also been used to start chocolate-making, hair cutting, cooking and artisan businesses.

Halder believes bracelet-making gives the girls a positive outlook for the future. “It’s to help show them they’re worth more than their society tells them they’re worth,” Halder said. “It’s to show them a future other than what they see around them.”

As a women’s studies minor at Goshen, Halder is aware of many issues that women face around the world, but before she didn’t understand the complexities that make it such a major issue. “Before I went to Peru, I never thought about making the issue of prostitution my life’s mission,” Halder said. “It’s their only source of income. It made me realize how huge of an issue this is on a global scale.”

If you are interested in purchasing bracelets you can e-mail perubracelets@gmail.com.

-By Tyler Falk

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.

GOSHEN, Ind. – With the current international situation being described as the “clash of civilizations” – the clash between the two largest religious traditions in the world, Islam and Christianity – Goshen College has decided that now is the time to “find its way to the Middle East in a new opportunity for learning through our well-established Study-Service Term program,” said President James E. Brenneman. The decision was made public at the April 14 Goshen College Afternoon Sabbatical international luncheon, which featured Egypt.Starting in the fall of 2010, Egypt will be added as a location for Goshen College students to study abroad through the 40-year-old Study-Service Term (SST) program, making it the first time that Arabic is the language studied by students on SST.

Goshen College Director of International Education Tom Meyers agrees with Brenneman. “Goshen College should be in the Middle East. It is a very important part of the world and international politics,” he said. “It is at the heart of so many issues.”

Adding the Middle East to the list of eight other destinations that Goshen College’s SST program goes to coincided with President Brenneman’s personal history and his vision for the college. He first traveled to the Middle East as a Goshen College student in 1977, which caused him to change his career focus from biology to the Hebrew Bible. Since then, as an Old Testament scholar, Brenneman has returned on a number of occasions, and he valued the opportunities for working alongside Muslims, Jews and other Christians on interfaith peace and justice work and dialogue as a pastor in Pasadena, Calif., before becoming president of Goshen College in 2006.

“I feel deeply about what Goshen College has to offer and learn from having a presence in the Middle East,” Brenneman said, noting that it is the biblical homeland and center of historical significance.

The possibility of a Middle East SST location was encouraged when a business roundtable forum was held at Goshen College in September 2007 about fostering better relationships between the West and the Middle East. It featured a conversation with international businessmen David Martin, 1989 Goshen College alumnus and the founding chief executive officer of M-CAM, Inc. of Charlottesville, Va.; Moustapha Sarhank, an Egyptian scholar in the interdisciplinary field of leadership, psychology and religion and the honorary chairman of Sarhank Group for Investments; and Stephen Schubert, a German banker and financial expert who started the Dubai International Finance Exchange in the United Arab Emirates.That event was followed up – at the invitation of Sarhank – with a trip in February 2008 by President Brenneman, Goshen College board members and supporters to Egypt and Dubai to meet with leaders in education, politics and religion.

A transcontinental country, Egypt is in North Africa and Western Asia. It borders the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, Israel and the Gaza Strip, Libya and Sudan. Almost all of the Egyptian population lives along the banks of the Nile River. Approximately 90 percent of Egyptians are Muslim and most others are Christian, primarily in the Coptic Orthodox denomination.

“Wherever we go, we want SST students to attempt to understand the complexities of the cultures that they live in,” Meyers said. “A big part of the cultures of the Middle East is Islam and it is important for our students to talk with Muslims and learn from them. It is a very important world religion.”

Because of sensitivities around gender, students will not be able to live with host families during their experience in Egypt. They will be housed in apartments or a retreat center. Meyers is also still choosing a language school for the students to attend during the first half of the semester, which will take place in the capital city of Cairo – a center of learning, culture and commerce – and will be focused on learning the language and about the country’s culture and history.

During the second part of the semester, students will have the opportunity to do service in a variety of places in the country.

Students will have the opportunity to visit a number of very important historical sites, as Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization. Other colleges have study abroad programs in Egypt, but few have programs that are a semester in length and that stay in Egypt the entire time.

Meyers said, “We have not been [to the Middle East] in the past because of security issues, as it is a volatile region. In this new location we are going to do what we do everywhere else in the world and that is to make sure that our students are safe and that their needs are met.”

Leaders for the first group to Egypt are still being determined.

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, Cambodia, Northern Indiana (in the Latino community). 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.

The addition of Egypt as an SST location means that the summer 2009 unit to Germany will be the last for that location.

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.

These are some of the findings of the Institute of International Education’s (IIE) 2008 Open Doors report, a summary of study abroad by U.S. college and university students, which was released to the public on Nov. 17. As well, it noted that Goshen College is again one of the top schools in the country for students to study abroad.

While large institutions dominate in terms of absolute numbers of their students going abroad, many smaller institutions send a higher proportion of their students abroad. Open Doors 2008 data on study abroad participation rates show 18 institutions that reported sending more than 80 percent of their students abroad at some point during their undergraduate careers. Goshen College was ranked number 13 on that list with 82.5 percent of students studying abroad at some point in their college careers.

This list also includes: Arcadia University, Austin College, Bates College, Centre College, Colorado College, Earlham College, Elon University, Goucher College, Hartwick College, Kalamazoo College, Lee University, Rhodes College, Saint Olaf College, University of Dallas, University of Minnesota – Morris, University of Saint Thomas, and Wofford College.

Open Doors 2008 finds that American students are more frequently choosing nontraditional study abroad destinations. And about 36 percent of students studying abroad do so through semester-long programs. Since the founding of its Study-Service Term (SST) program 40 years ago in 1968, Goshen College has intentionally chosen developing countries to host students abroad for a semester.

“For 40 years, Goshen College has encouraged students to study and serve in societies that are significantly different than our own,” said Director of International Education Tom Meyers. “In the developing world our students have a direct encounter with a reality that is unlike anything that they have known or experienced in life.”

Allan E. Goodman, president and CEO of the Institute of International Education, noted that the experiences afforded through study abroad provide American students with the skills needed to live in today’s world. “International experience needs to be a component of every student’s education, equipping them for 21st century careers and for global citizenship,” said Goodman.

The report states that Europe continued to host the largest share of U.S. students (57 percent), while Latin America hosted 15 percent of all Americans studying abroad, Asia hosted 10 percent and Africa hosted 4 percent. In contrast, Goshen College has sent students to 22 different countries over the past 40 years, and currently sends students to China, Nicaragua, Tanzania, Germany, Senegal, Perú, Jamaica and Cambodia.

The Open Doors report also notes that China is now the number five leading destination of U.S. study abroad students, with a 25 percent increase over the prior year. Since 1980 though, when Goshen College became the first U.S. college to arrange an undergraduate exchange to China, 351 students have gone to the communist country through SST.

Since the first SST units went to Costa Rica, Jamaica and Guadeloupe in 1968 and began one of the country’s unique international education programs, more than 7,000 students and 230 faculty leaders have traveled through the program. The program’s uncommon 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.

For more information about Goshen’s SST program, as well as photos, journals and videos from past groups, visit  www.goshen.edu/sst/.

Editors: For more information about this release, 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.