Western students to share study-abroad experiences May 13

In honor of Scholars Week, students from the Faculty-led Global Learning Programs at Western Washington University will be sharing their special projects, field studies, service learning, and other experiences at the Global Learning Poster Session on Tuesday, May 13. The session will be held from noon to 3 p.m. in the Miller Hall Collaborative Space.

Faculty-led Global Learning Programs offer students of any major the opportunity to travel and study with Western faculty while earning credits. The programs are diverse, offering an array of options for students to explore a specific interest through service learning and cultural studies.

Liz Partolan-Fray, director of Western’s International Programs and Exchanges, hopes that the poster session will be a way for students to learn how a travel-based program can empower the countries they visit and inspire students on their own paths towards future careers of interest. Partolan-Fray also feels that “students don’t have many opportunities to share their projects after their experiences abroad, and it is important for the campus to see the exciting things they’ve done while helping others.”

A few of the projects being shared are from participants in Changing China: Culture, Community and Citizenship; Building Bridges with Rwanda; and Ecotourism and Community Development in Peru. Students from the poster session will be representing several of the programs being offered this summer, which have 150 students already registered for programs in countries across the globe.

Several faculty will also be in attendance, including Lee Gulyas from the Building Bridges with Rwanda program. Gulyas states that she has “a deep affinity for the Service-Learning model.” She emphasizes that the students and faculty work in a partnership with local experts in the programs’ locations to address self-identified community goals, but that the partnership doesn’t end when the students return to campus. “We are committed to social responsibility and change, of course, but our ultimate goal is to develop intercultural relationships and understanding. Greater awareness and insight that comes with cross-cultural experiences can change the way we think about and participate in the world, as well as in our own communities.”

Scholars Week is an annual celebration of undergraduate research and creative activities at WWU, held May 12-16 of this year. To learn more about Scholars Week and see a schedule of events, please visit wwu.edu/depts/scholars or send an email to scholars.week@wwu.edu.

For more information on Faculty-led Global Learning programs, please visit wwu.edu/GlobalLearning or email the Extended Education Office at ExtendedEd@wwu.edu.