Description
The Miller Institute for Global Education has designed an opportunity in Panama for students to learn about the culture and needs of the country, particularly in more rural areas. Along with visits to Panama City, the Panama Canal, archaeological sites, and tropical rainforests, students will have the opportunity to engage in community service activities at a rural community school, C.E.B.G Loma Bonita School, a school which has been in existence for over 100 years.
This partnership is created for sustainability. Students who are selected for this experience will serve as ambassadors for future years to educate other members of Brenau’s campus community to create an ongoing network of service.
Loma Bonita is a rural community located in the province of Cocle, Panama. The Miller Institute for Global Education and a group of Brenau ambassadors visited the C.E.B.G Loma Bonita School in May 2022 to gain a deeper understanding of the community, issues they face, and with the ultimate goal of wanting to help make Cocle a more equitable community for learning.
Leaving with a strong desire to help the future generation of Loma Bonita, Brenau’s Ambassadors devised a plan to provide the school community with a fully stocked library so students can continue deepening knowledge, developing global curiosities and exploring ideas.
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With your generosity the teachers and their students of the C.E.B.G Loma Bonita School will be able to advance their education and increase literacy in both Spanish and English, igniting a passion for reading and learning; which in turn opens doors for future opportunities outside of school.
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Why are donations necessary?
With your donations, Brenau University will be able to continue providing study abroad opportunities that will give Brenau students first-hand experiences in a classroom setting, such as teaching and planning, but more specifically when working with English Language Learners and other at-risk learners.
Students will be challenged to be creative, extend their comfort zone, and reflect on what they have learned so that they can in turn 1) share the experience with future ambassadors and 2) bring the experience “home” and apply this hands on knowledge to the classroom settings right here in our communities as our Brenau students accept the challenge of taking the lead in their own classrooms.
We will also be able to expand the C.E.B.G Loma Bonita School book collection and create an enriching environment for learning. Access to a wealth of knowledge through reading allows for an expansion of vocabulary and an understanding of the world, people, social-emotional skills, and of course, imagination!
Research shows reading can lead to an increase in self-confidence and establish independence. We can all agree that reading is the foundation for developing logic and problem-solving skills; informing the future decisions of these young minds. Studying abroad is a unique educational experience that provides global learning opportunities which are critical to a student’s success in the 21st century. Students who have studied abroad have greater intercultural understanding, better grasp the complexity of global issues, and are better equipped to work with people from other countries. Studies have even shown a positive correlation between students who study abroad and higher grade point averages and degree completion rates.
Creating meaningful opportunities for students at Brenau University to study abroad strengthens the connections the university has made outside of the U.S., both as hosts and as students abroad. In addition, these types of opportunities align with the University’s Strategic Plan and Quality Enhancement Plan which focuses on increasing cultural competence in the Brenau student population and community.