An increasing number of Goshen College students join an SST course or semester as a way of exploring their own heritage. While some students prefer an adventure in a culture as different as possible from their own, others welcome the chance to deepen their understanding of their own backgrounds.
Finally, on Sept. 12, 1968, the first three “official” Study-Service Trimester (SST) groups left northern Indiana for Costa Rica, Guadeloupe and Jamaica. And that was the beginning of what has become 50 years of transformative global citizenship.
I want to highlight why experiential or service learning — in international settings as well as on our campuses — is essential, and why it may be effective.
On Sept. 14-16, 2018, Goshen College faculty, staff and students met at Camp Amigo to explore ways to strengthen Goshen College’s international education core, including SST, to make it more effective, engaging and possible for our students in the current global context.
Goshen College and Pinchpenny Press are publishing an intercultural guidebook titled “The Goshen College Guide to Studying and Serving Abroad: Essays on Intercultural Learning,” drawing on the experiences of faculty, staff and students who have participated in SST.
Goshen College’s Study-Service Term (SST) program has been ranked fourth on a list of the 50 best study abroad program in America. Since the SST program began in 1968, nearly 8,000 students have participated in 24 countries worldwide.
This summer, two students created a Peruvian cookbook, “Los Sabores del Peru,” to sell for charity.
“My favorite place in the world,” said Andrea Medina, a Goshen College senior social work major from Goshen, “is Alhambra, an ancient Islamic palace in Granada, Spain.”
