Group focuses on Nicaragua service learning, reflection

student group
Provided
One group of the students who went to Nicaragua helped build a house.

A group of Cornell students is taking hands-on learning to a new level through service learning – they spent spring break working on rural building projects in Nicaragua and also are running a spring two-credit course that prepared the students for the 10-day trip and now helps them process what they’ve experienced.

Bridges to Community is a national nonprofit organization with chapters across the country. Cornell’s branch, which won the 19th annual James A. Perkins Prize for Interracial Understanding and Harmony this year, is one of the few to be integrated with a course.

The development sociology course, Bridges to Community, taught by Professor Philip McMichael, focuses its first eight weeks on Nicaraguan history, politics, gender issues, culture and other topics regarding the social and political climate of the country. Through readings and guest lecturers, students “foster deeper conversations … and become more aware,” says teaching assistant Elayne Dombroski ’13.

During weekly class meetings after the trip, students were asked to define service learning, and many students spoke about cultural exchange. Bridges to Community focuses on mutual cultural education between Nicaraguan people and American students.

Dombroski, who first got involved with Bridges to Community in high school, says, “When I went [to Nicaragua] in high school, I didn’t know much about Nicaraguan history,” while she now feels she understands more about the culture of Nicaragua. This aspect of the course makes the people of Nicaragua receptive to students from Bridges to Community, she said.

Working and living alongside rural Nicaraguan people, some of the 25 students on the trip helped build a house for a family in Nindiri while the others worked in Fonseca digging trenches for pipes to bring running water to families. The projects would probably have been done by community members more efficiently without students, said Charlie Chung ’13, president of the group. But “it’s not always about getting things done the most efficient way, but rather the most meaningful way,” Chung said. “What’s important is keeping conversations going and interacting with neighbors.”

“Service learning impacts you in a way that you actually learn,” said teaching assistant Lucy Mehrabyan ’14. Reflection is the most critical part of service learning, she says, especially in terms of answering the question: “Where do I go from here?”

After students come back from their trip, she said, they are motivated to educate other people about what they have seen. Bridges to Community wants to make sure students know how to channel that motivation in a productive way, which is why the last weeks of the class focus on the students’ final reflection projects.

Student organizers of the course know that there is a place for more service learning at Cornell. Bridges to Community wants to make sure as many students as possible can benefit from its service learning experience. “It kills me that so many people have passion for this and can’t be involved because they can’t afford the trip,” said Chung. The Perkins Prize, which awarded the group $5,000, will help with that, but further fundraising and awareness about the program will be the organization’s focus.

For now, more service learning courses are in development at Cornell. One student said at the class’s meeting, “these are the types of experiences I want my college life to consist of.”

Sarah Byrne ’15 is a student writer intern for the Cornell Chronicle.

 

 

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