The Global Experiential Learning (GEL) Program offers Shenandoah students a short-term, faculty-led, study-abroad experience for academic credit. Since the program’s inception in 2000, students have traveled to approximately 30 nations, including Argentina, China, England, France, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Russia, Spain, and Thailand. The GEL program aims to make the world a learning laboratory for students, providing deep exploration into individual fields of study, the opportunity to understand where the United States fits in terms of the world viewpoint, and the ability to enhance skills in cultural sensitivity, flexibility, and capability to adjust and adapt.
Students apply for these short-term, credit-bearing, faculty-led programs offered winter break, spring break, and during the summer. If the course is not within your major, it might be used as an elective.
Below is current list of GEL programs being offered for the 2018-2019 academic year. For details, contact the faculty leader via email.
Global Experiential Learning Trips for the 2018-2019 Academic Year
Strudels, Steins and Song
Karen Keating | kkeating@su.edu
In this course, students will explore Mozart’s work through the lens of his early childhood years, the formative years, and his religious upbringing. The trip will allow students to experience the social atmosphere and cultural context of Salzburg.
This course is only open to Cantus singers in the conservatory.
Physical Therapy in Belize
Jill Boissonnault | jboisson@su.edu
SUPT will take 3 DPT students to the Toledo District of Belize, Central America with faculty member, Dr. Jill Boissonnault. The students will visit 6-10 elementary schools in the district with Dr. Boissonnault and a representative of the Toledo District Ministry of Education (MOE). The DPT students will present a ‘Disability Awareness’ curriculum to the elementary school students.
This program is suitable for PT students only.
International Health Care in Brazil
Keith Jones Pomeroy | kjonespo@su.edu & Kori Lapham | klapham10@su.edu
This GEL trip will take students, faculty, and staff to learn and serve people living in the Amazon River Basin on the John Wesley Medical Boat, offering residents in under-resourced communities basic medical care. In addition to the trip, students will have the opportunity to discuss knowledge, skills, values and meanings associated with international health care, particularly in Brazil. The focus is on health care problems, health education and health care delivery systems in Brazil.
This program is suitable for Nursing students only.
Cultural Explorations of Cuba
Montressa Washington | mwashing2@su.edu, Lisa Darsch | ldarsch@su.edu & Dave Darsch (Entrepreneur in Residence) | ddarsch@su.edu
The explosive changes in Cuba and the private business sectors has brought both opportunities and challenges to new and seasoned entrepreneurs as well as the health care delivery. The Entrepreneur & Nursing Exchange program is packed full of People-to-People exchange activities and combines the opportunity to learn and experience Cuba’s art, music, dance, and history, while focusing on entrepreneurship and nursing in Cuba. This new program presents a unique learning experience in each area. The nursing and business students will spend the majority of their time together. However, during the trip nursing students will have the opportunity to meet local Cuban physicians and nurses, visit nursing facilities, and learn about Cuba’s healthcare system. The business/entrepreneur students will get a first hand look at Cuba and meet local business owners, discuss challenges, marketing, financial options, and visit local Cuban facilities. Students will also enjoy the beauty of Havana, Cuba and get a chance to learn about Cuban culture and history.
This course is suitable for graduate students and seniors with 90 plus credits.
Envisioning the world through the Prague Quadrennial
Andrew Carson | acarson@su.edu
This GEL program will visit the international Theatrical Design and Pedagogy conference held every 4 years in Prague. This international conference and exhibition is widely heralded as the international design equivalent of the Olympics. This program explores design and technology in the theatre in a global context through experiential learning through observation and participation in the Prague Quadrennial as well as the international arts scene in Prague.
This course is open to conservatory students.
Environmental Citizenship, Public Health and Religious Diversity in the Dominican Republic
Audra Gollenberg | agollenb@su.edu & Kevin Minister | kministe@su.edu
January 9th-20th, 2020
This course will examine environmental sustainability in the Dominican Republic through the lens of public health and religious diversity, critically reflecting on what it means to be a responsible environmental citizen with attention to the global context in which we live. You will trek into the central highlands of the Dominican Republic where mountainous landscapes; coffee plantations and alpine pastures stretch as far as the eye can see. Students will experience the area’s rich biodiversity while learning how reforestation and ecotourism efforts have affected the land and communities. As students are immersed in the local culture, the class will work together with non-profits and community members to build sustainable solutions to conservation, health and social challenges. This course will fulfill 3 SU credits.
This course is open to Arts & Sciences students.
London Theatre and History
Carolyn Coulson | ccoulson2@su.edu
This GEL course will introduce the student to the theatre and history of London and the UK. This year, the theatre we will see as a group will focus on straight plays, including the classics and newer works, including non-traditional performance, as available. We will be looking to push outside the mainstream. We will also visit several historical sites such as Hampton Court Palace and the Tower of London and some of London’s great museums. Students will be asked to write several short essays upon returning, which reflect on the experience and make connections between the greater contextual visits and the specific plays we see. Students will have a busy, packed schedule and are expected to attend all day trips and performances.
This program is suitable for conservatory students.
Cultural Explorations in Europe
Petra Schweitzer | pschweit@su.edu & Casey Erikson | cerikson@su.edu
In this course students will visit Munich, Venice, Lucerne, Heidelberg, and Paris to explore the countries at hand through the lenses of European business, history, art, cuisine, and culture more broadly. We will meet with business owners, cultural experts, and policy makers in discussing cross-cultural learning experiences in a global world.
Suitable for all majors.
International Perspectives on Mental Health in Germany
Scott King | sking4@su.edu & Rodney Bragdon | rbragdon@su.edu
This GEL trip will explore international mental health treatment systems, with a cross-cultural focus on historical and modern-day U.S. and German approaches. The course will culminate in a 12-day trip through Germany and Austria, including stays in Frankfurt/Mainz, Vienna, Munich, Leipzig, and Berlin.
Suitable for all majors, prerequisite course is PSY-101.
Interprofessional Health care mission in Ghana
Tony Miller | amiller@su.edu & Anne Schempp | aschempp@su.edu
This is an interprofessional medical mission trip that will include opportunities for students to learn and practice clinical skills while providing health care services to needy communities. Shenandoah University is working collaboratively with Global Brigades which is a NGO with established infrastructure in the country.
Graduate Student trip only open to Athletic Training, Occupational Therapy, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, Physician Assistant Studies students.
Apply for this GEL Course for Graduate Students
Undergraduate trip is open to Pre-Health students.
Summer Arts Leadership Institute
David Edelman | dedelman@su.edu
The Summer Arts Leadership Institute will bring together American and European students for a 10-day intensive program in international and intercultural issues facing future arts leaders. The Institute will be hosted at the American University of Greece in Athens and will feature discussions with European cultural leaders, four half-day study tours of Athens, a guided day-long tour of Epidaurus and Mycenae, attendance at four evening performances in Athens, and even a leadership day at the beach.
This program is suitable for those interested in exploring arts management in an international setting.
Physical Therapy experience in Guatemala
AJ Lievre | alievre@su.edu
This international experience is an opportunity for PT students to experience PT in a new setting. Program is only open to SU PT students in good academic standing and in their 2nd or 3rd year of the program.
PT & OT Clinical Experience in Haiti
This non-traditional clinical rotation takes place in Jacmel, Haiti. Our group will treat patients in an in-patient setting and also in a school based setting. Visits to rural homes and schools will also take place. Community Coalition for Haiti is the host organization and the group will be exposed to serial casting, equipment fabrication, and Inter professional interactions with nurses, physicians, pharmacists, and teachers. This course is only open to students in the PT and OT program.
Comparative Education in Ireland
Jill Lindsey | jlindsey@su.edu
Prospective teachers and school leaders will have a chance to travel to Galway, Ireland and the Aran Islands via Dublin. This GEL course will explore education in Ireland. You will also experience the rich culture of Irish music in Galway and Doolin, visit the Cliffs of Moor and spend a weekend in Dublin seeing the Book of Kells, Trinity College and historic sites. Classroom visits will include exchanges of ideas with local teachers, teacher candidates and school head candidates studying at the National University of Ireland.
This program is suitable for students in Education majors and programs.
Athletic Training in Ireland
Rose Schmieg | rschmieg@su.edu & Denise Massie | dmassie@su.edu
Students on this GEL course will travel to Dublin, Ireland to examine the healthcare system of Ireland. During this trip, Dr. Schmieg and Dr. Massie will lead teaching lectures and labs to Dublin City University athletic therapy students on the topics of instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization (Graston Technique) and assessment and treatment of the vesitibular-oculo-motor system of the concussed athlete. Select second-year MSAT students who attend this GEL will participate in instructing these lab skills to the DCU students under faculty direction. The SU MSAT students will also attend classes with the DCU students during the week.
This program is suitable for students in Athletic Training.
NYC Theatre and Broadway
Kevin Covert | kcovert@su.edu
This GEL program is being offered through the Musical Theatre department and explores the various Broadway industries of in NYC. As a participant of this trip, you will be able to experience the following: 6 shows (Including Broadway Musicals, Plays and Off-Broadway Theatre), 2 Broadway Workshops with Industry Professional, Talk Back with the cast(s) of Broadway Musicals or Play Backstage Tour of a Broadway Theatre, Museum Trip to MOMA and shopping in SoHo
This program is suitable for students in theatre degree programs.
Exploring Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Eastern Europe
Bogdan Daraba | bdaraban@su.edu & Montressa Washington | mwashing2@su.edu
This GEL trip to Romania and Hungary will provide an opportunity for students to experience firsthand business operations in varying international settings focused on social innovation and entrepreneurship, the concept of creating value by solving social problems. The course includes lectures, meetings with distinguished professors, engagement with social innovation and entrepreneurship experts, field trips to business organizations and cultural sites, classroom discussions, and assignments. The course has been designed to help you develop skills and perspectives to enable you to get the most out of the international experience as we will work directly with an established in country organization on a mission to develop sustainable social enterprises that solve critical social problems in emerging market economies. General and specific discussions led by authorities in their fields will enable students to better understand different business and economic views, values, and customs, and these will be integrated into the experience. The course is timely and appropriate as we observe the dynamics of globalization and an increasing need to solve some of the world’s most pressing problems.
Diversity and Cooperation in West Africa
Kevin Minister | kministe@su.edu & Meredith Minister | mministe@su.edu
This class will examine religious and cultural diversity in Senegal and analyze the ways that communities in Senegal forge civic cooperation to address social challenges. You will study, visit, and interact with Muslim, Christian, and Animist communities in Senegal. You will also experience and reflect on various cultural traditions in Senegal including music, dance, and wrestling. Suitable for all majors.
International Business in Barcelona
Dave Darsch | david@darsch.com
This GEL course is offered by the Business School in Barcelona, Spain. It will provide an opportunity for students to experience firsthand business operations in varying international settings. The course includes lectures, meetings with distinguished professors, meetings with senior corporate executives, field trips to business organizations and cultural sites, classroom discussions, and assignments. The course has been designed to help you develop skills and perspectives to enable you to get the most out of the international experience. General and specific discussions led by authorities in their fields will enable you to better understand different business and economic views, values, and customs, and these will be integrated into the experience. The course is timely and appropriate as we observe the dynamics of globalization and international diversity.
Exploring Global Health and Policy Development
Lisa Darsch | ldarsch@su.edu & Michelle Gamber | mgamber@su.edu
Students travel to Geneva, Switzerland, to attend the World Health Organization’s (WHO) World Health Assembly (WHA). Prior to and during this trip, students learn how global health policy is shaped, how various health professions work within this interdisciplinary landscape, and explore the diverse cultural regions of Switzerland. When in Switzerland, students get the unique opportunity to see first-hand how policy is discussed and developed in the global landscape by participating in the WHA meetings held at the United Nations. Students will also have an opportunity to visit and meet with other organizations such as the WHO, Doctors without Borders, ICRC and participate in several professional networking opportunities. This is an experiential course utilizing discussion, inquiry and exploration of international health care policy creation.
This program is suitable for graduate health professions students.
Oral History Nyaka Grandmother Project in Uganda
Amy Sarch | asarch@su.edu & Jeff Coker | jcoker2@su.edu
This January GEL trip offers students the opportunity to conduct oral histories and ethnographic interviews with grandmothers in rural Uganda. These women are part of the Grandmother Program, launched in Uganda in 2007 as part of Jackson Kaguri’s Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project (which also has constructed three schools in the region for orphans). Over 7,000 women are now part of the program, and all have a story to tell. We will collect these fascinating and inspiring stories and record them. In the process, we will increase the visibility of this important program and also help these women preserve their histories.
This program is suitable for GenEd undergraduate students; fulfills cultural understanding and Domain 7.
Diversity, Service, Reflection: Martin Luther King and Us
DeLyn Celec | dcelec@su.edu
This course is based on experiential and contextual learning and fulfills the Domain 5 “Moral Reasoning” requirement. Students will engage and explore the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as they apply to today’s issues January 13-21. During this time we will take part in workshops, trainings and service-learning opportunities in Washington, D.C. and in and around Winchester, VA. The final projects will be tailored to fit the interests, strengths, courses of study, and talents of the students and will be presented during Martin Luther King Week.
Faculty GEL Program Proposal
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