They are not alone. This is the question many students ask as they look to the future. Organizations of all kinds--private business, not-for-profits, and governmental agencies--seek employees who understand the workplace and can fit appropriately into the team. Because so much in today's world requires skills of intercultural/international communication and cooperation, employers are especially interested in candidates who have shown that they can perform in such settings.
International service-learning is one option for college and university students, allowing them simultaneously to study and earn college credits and to perform substantive and responsible service in a community agency abroad.
The International Partnership for Service-Learning is the best known of the organizations that offer such opportunities. Programs lasting a semester, a year, or a summer in eleven different locations around the world attract students from more than 300 U.S. and Canadian colleges and universities. More than 20 percent of the students are from minority backgrounds; of this 20 percent, most are African Americans.
Just What the Doctor Ordered
One of the early Partnership students was Tasha Jiles [Ford] from St. Augustine's in Raleigh, NC. Now a practicing physician specializing in internal medicine and pediatrics in Memphis, TN, Dr. Jiles [Ford] was a 20-year-old collegian when she enrolled in the service-learning program in England. There she earned college credit in courses related to the culture of Great Britain and its social welfare system.
As part of the semester program, she worked some 20 hours each week in a psychiatric ward and assisted mentally disabled outpatients in the community. "I taught social skills, such as how to shop and cook and helped them to be as self-sustained as possible," she reports, "and this experience awakened my desire to be a doctor and convinced me that I could be a good one." After graduation from St. Augustine's, Tasha attended medical school at the University of North Carolina.
When Tasha left for England, she thought that she would be shut up in a room somewhere with thousands of books. "Instead," she says, "I sat in on staff meetings and read reports about clients before actually meeting them. I took blood pressures, assisted in deliveries, and went on ward rounds, giving hands-on care and serving the community directly."
Future Teacher Learns Lesson For Life
A more recent African-American student is Damani Aaquil. A 21 year old collegian at Manchester Community College in Connecticut, Damani was pursuing his career in social services and his interests in education and in African studies. He selected the Partnership program in Jamaica in the Spring of 1996.
"With such an opportunity," he said, "I enjoyed successful experiences in teaching, program planning, community development and networking. While in Jamaica, I learned about Jamaican culture, history, literature, and current events both through my classes and through informal debates with fellow students at the College of Arts, Science, and Technology in Kingston."
"I was then challenged to digest and reteach this information to my students at The Jamaican Movement for the Advancement of Literacy. This reteaching is a prime example of how teaching and service are reinforced in the program. I discovered my primary role as a translator and mentor," he adds.
"I could take no knowledge for granted, however. Some of the 17- and 18-year-olds could not spell their names! Now they write to me in the States, and I respond personally and correct their writing. It has helped me reconfirm my goal to be a teacher."
Finding The Right Program For You
How do students find such programs that combine study and service or other types of internships? How does the study they do overseas get credited toward the degree at the home college? How do they find the financial resources for such learning experiences?
First, there are directories available in college and university libraries and study abroad offices. Peterson's publishes a number of helpful guides: Study Abroad, Academic Year Abroad, Internships 1997. Other books include Volunteer! published by the Council for International Education Exchange; The Peace Corps and More, published by Global Exchange; and Making a Difference College Guide: Education for a Better World, by Sage Press.
In researching the program that is right for you, do not hesitate to call the sponsoring organization's office and ask questions such as these: How long has the program existed? What is the philosophy behind the program? With and for whom will you be working? What kind of advising, support, and supervision will you have? What academic institution is responsible for your classes? What are the living arrangements? What does the program fee include? You may ask for the phone numbers of previous students to get their reports on the program's quality. You may also want to ask about the number of African-American student participants in the organization's programs each year and for the names of the colleges they attend in the U.S.
Make Sure Travel Study Counts
Once you have selected a program, you must discuss it with your academic advisor, dean, or study abroad officer to ensure that the academic work you will do overseas can be credited toward your degree. In some programs, the academic work is proscribed; in other cases, you may select from an extensive list of courses just as you would on your own campus. Remember though that as on your own campus, not every course in the catalog is taught every semester, so you and your home college should be flexible.
The foreign university at which you do your academic work may issue a transcript indicating completion of your studies. This transcript is sent to your home campus, which records the courses and credits as part of your requirements for graduation.
How To Pay for Study Abroad
But how do you pay for it? Programs of study abroad, service-learning, and study-internships vary widely in price. When you inquire about costs be sure to find out just what the fee includes. Do you pay separately for housing, food, travel, or do costs include these?
If your college or university permits you to go abroad and credits your studies upon return, you may apply federal financial aid and loans to the cost of the program. Other types of scholarships may not apply. You will need to investigate. Ask your dean or financial aid office.
Students selecting service-learning programs have raised money from such service organizations as churches, Rotary, or Kiwanis Clubs. These grants are usually $500 or less, but several of them can add up.
All of the above advice suggests that you should start planning early for study abroad or service-learning programs. It takes time to find the right program, get the academic approval, secure a passport and visa, and put together your finances.
Benefits of Study Abroad
Is it worth it? You bet! Like Jiles and Aaquil, you will find your horizons broadened. Service-learning gives you work experience, academic advancement, and living abroad all at the same time. "I hardly recognize my students when they return," says Professor Barbara Tazewell, who directs the international service-learning at St. Augustine's. "Even though they have been gone only one semester, they return so poised and confident with the practical knowledge of how to get around the world that they seem to have grown by years instead of months."
Dr. Thomas Law, President of St. Paul's College, an HBCU in Lawrenceville, VA, has summarized his students' experience in service-learning abroad through the Partnership: "Our students have been enriched and renewed by these adventures to parts unknown and find upon their return that their lives will never be the same."
For a catalogue of Partnership programs in the Czech Republic, Ecuador, England, France, India, Israel, Jamaica, Mexico, Philippines, Scotland, and South Dakota (with Native Americans), contact the following:
The International Partnership for Service-Learning
815 Second Avenue
Suite 315
New York, NY 10017
(212) 986-0989
pslny@aol.com
http://www.studyabroad.com/travelstudy/
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