Shenandoah Students Gain Global Perspective Through Virtual Exchange

In Fall 2024, Shenandoah University incorporated Virtually Going Global into its First-Year Seminar (FYS) program, introducing a virtual exchange element to the university’s established curriculum for first-year students.

Through Virtually Going Global, which is supported by the J. Christopher Stevens Virtual Exchange Initiative, a U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs program administered by the Aspen Institute, Shenandoah students in all 26 FYS classes connected with peers from Yarmouk University in Jordan, engaging in a virtual exchange experience that culminated in a group project designed to foster students’ global awareness.

In “Who Gets to Speak Spanish in the U.S.: Language, Inequality & Professional Success,” taught by Adela Borrallo-Solis, Ph.D., chair of the Hispanic Studies Department, students participated in a cultural artifact exchange project in which they chose an object that represents their cultural background. At the end of the course, Shenandoah and Yarmouk students created a collaborative video presenting their takeaways from the experience.

Dr. Borrallo-Solis said the goal of her FYS course is to learn how mutual understanding, successful communication and critical thinking skills are vital to professional and personal progress. Virtually Going Global allowed her students to develop those skills in real situations with their peers from Yarmouk, rather than in a hypothetical context.

I love that our first-year students needed to figure out how to connect with people they have never met, from a culture that tends to be quite unknown to them. The amount and level of skills required to complete the exchange successfully are immense. The kindness, empathy, adaptability, leadership and patience displayed was overwhelming. The reward that this professor is getting from witnessing students collaborating in such a beautiful way is priceless.”

Adela Borrallo-Solis, Ph.D., chair of Shenandoah University’s Hispanic Studies Department

In “Calligraphy, Chopsticks & Zen,” taught by Ting-Yu Chen, Ed.D., Shenandoah Conservatory’s associate dean for academic success and professor of dance, students took a similar approach to their virtual exchange experience. Before meeting synchronously online, Shenandoah and Yarmouk students created lists of “I Am” statements that shared aspects of their lives, including family structure, their major(s), hobbies, religion, and other fun facts about themselves.

For their first virtual meeting, students from both universities brought an item to class and, in small groups, took turns explaining that item’s significance to their identity. Afterward, students in each group wrote a couple of paragraphs in a shared document reflecting on that experience, including what they learned and their cultural similarities and differences. Those groups met again later in the semester to brainstorm ideas for a joint video and continued the planning process outside of class via an online messaging app. 

For their final project, each group created a video that featured a single cultural artifact that represented their values and how they found a connection with their peers. Students also reflected on what they learned from the global virtual exchange experience.

The Virtually Going Global program will continue as part of Shenandoah University’s First-Year Seminar curriculum in Fall 2025.