One of the reasons that I accepted a job offer from Kent State University was that the vision put forth by our University President, Dr. Beverly Warren, was to both improve the university’s global competitiveness and engage our students in real life experiences that will allow them to become informed citizens. This road map has allowed me to push myself and my students in directions that previously were inaccessible to them. In our shrinking world where it is now easier to talk to a colleague on the other side of the globe than it is to walk over and greet your neighbor, perspective, understanding, and compassion become the cornerstones of becoming a successful and competent nutrition professional.
In reviewing the history of my department, Health Sciences, I realized that there has never been a nutrition-specific faculty-led study abroad for my students to see how nutrition is regarded outside of the United States. In addition, my students are immersed in the micro- and macro-nutrients of health and wellness and all volunteer at hospitals, food kitchens, schools, and retirement communities but have not yet experienced nutrition on a level broader than a single community. With the approval of my director and the support and advice from my fellow faculty members, I set about designing an international travel course for my students to participate in.
I have been blessed to have been affiliated with the Yamba Abaana non-profit and the Rubanda Solidarity School for the past few years. My personal interests – Nutrition, Food and Water Security, and Food Safety – have been reflected in the projects I’ve worked on for the school. Specifically, I have worked to improve the student’s breakfast and lunch, raise donations for additional water storage and rainwater collection, and, perhaps most importantly, helped fund a dedicated well for the school. Because of this relationship and the incredible support network that has been accumulated over the years, Uganda was the obvious choice for me to bring students to. Not only will they get to learn about a new culture, meet some amazing people, and discover the differences in food production, distribution, and access between our two countries, they get to see how the knowledge that they are learning can be used to directly impact the lives of others.
For the two weeks that my students will be traveling through Uganda, they will be journalling their initial expectations, experiences, and reflections. As we visit the national parks, a university, the school, and a hospital, my students will be tasked with trying to explain what they see and synthesizing these new experiences with the knowledge they have been taught as students in Ohio. I look forward to sharing those journal entries and pictures of our trip with our community when we return.