Winter Term In Service offers students unique experiences
By: Andy Bruner
Issue date: 2/2/07 Section: News
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This year's Winter Term In Service program took DePauw students to three continents for volunteer work and immersed learning experiences.
More than 90 students went on five service trips to Florida, Belize, Cameroon, India and Vietnam. Travelers participated in activities from studying about the impact of sex tourism on India's Goa region to building latrines in Cameroonian villages.
Winter Term In Service Director Sarah Ryan said this year's trips, all first-time destinations for the program, generated high student and faculty interest.
"We had probably more students than ever interested in Winter Term In Service," Ryan said. "We had just an enormous waitlist."
Senior Melyna Hernandez served as the Hartman House's intern for Winter Term In Service and helped plan the trips. She also participated in the Belize trip as the project officer. It was Hernandez's third Winter Term In Service trip.
"A Winter Term In Service trip allows you to be in another country and enjoy your experience there, but give back to the community at the same time," Hernandez said.
In Belize, students did work in the town of Orange Walk, helping to construct a playground, tutoring children and working at local medical facilities.
"I think it was really beneficial that we were able to have experience in the three areas," said senior Amanda Decker, the reflections officer for the Belize trip. "By far the best part of the trip was the people that we got to know."
Decker said her two Winter Term In Service trips to Nicaragua and Belize have helped her decide to pursue a career in working for an international volunteer organization once she graduates this spring.
"The Winter Term In Service program challenges ideas and perceptions, which I think is the goal of DePauw," Decker said.
Professor Susan Dewey hoped the trip to India she helped plan would change students' perceptions. She has done extensive research in India, and used her own contacts to design activities for DePauw's service trip. She said being with students who were visiting India for the first time helped her remember how special the country's culture is.
More than 90 students went on five service trips to Florida, Belize, Cameroon, India and Vietnam. Travelers participated in activities from studying about the impact of sex tourism on India's Goa region to building latrines in Cameroonian villages.
Winter Term In Service Director Sarah Ryan said this year's trips, all first-time destinations for the program, generated high student and faculty interest.
"We had probably more students than ever interested in Winter Term In Service," Ryan said. "We had just an enormous waitlist."
Senior Melyna Hernandez served as the Hartman House's intern for Winter Term In Service and helped plan the trips. She also participated in the Belize trip as the project officer. It was Hernandez's third Winter Term In Service trip.
"A Winter Term In Service trip allows you to be in another country and enjoy your experience there, but give back to the community at the same time," Hernandez said.
In Belize, students did work in the town of Orange Walk, helping to construct a playground, tutoring children and working at local medical facilities.
"I think it was really beneficial that we were able to have experience in the three areas," said senior Amanda Decker, the reflections officer for the Belize trip. "By far the best part of the trip was the people that we got to know."
Decker said her two Winter Term In Service trips to Nicaragua and Belize have helped her decide to pursue a career in working for an international volunteer organization once she graduates this spring.
"The Winter Term In Service program challenges ideas and perceptions, which I think is the goal of DePauw," Decker said.
Professor Susan Dewey hoped the trip to India she helped plan would change students' perceptions. She has done extensive research in India, and used her own contacts to design activities for DePauw's service trip. She said being with students who were visiting India for the first time helped her remember how special the country's culture is.
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