As a part of the June 2023 Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College’s (SMWC) pre-college program, GL-150 Go Global Leaders of Positive Change students recently traveled to the city and mountainside of Quito and the Galàpagos Island of San Cristóbal in Ecuador. This study abroad event was faculty-led by Kimberly LaComba, Ph.D., assistant professor of Global Leadership and director of the Ph.D. in Global Leadership program. It was a part of SMWC’s Challenging Ambitions and Maximizing Potential (C.A.M.P.) at The Woods. The pre-college outreach students earned two college credits from SMWC for completing the one-week on-campus course and the study abroad. During the trip, students applied concepts that were learned during the course.
The students’ responsible global leadership projects were incorporated into a class lesson at Pedro Pablo Catholic School in San Cristóbal and evaluated by local student leaders who then, virtually, provided constructive feedback from their cultural perspectives and experiences. While in the Galàpagos, the student leaders from both programs collaborated through Education for Nature Galàpagos, thanks to Ashleigh Kingman, Director, and representatives from Universidad San Francisco Galàpagos, to further plan their joint project and participated in a leadership workshop at Hacienda Tranquila. The students delivered their responsible global leadership projects to younger students at Pedro Pablo Catholic School, focusing on sustainability topics such as preventing pollution to protect endemic species, planting native plants and sharing lessons from the children’s book titled Letty’s Mission.
LaComba stated, “Students from Go Global Leaders of Positive Change demonstrated global leadership skills by learning from and immersing in the Ecuadorian culture. Through collaboration on projects and co-leading with their partners, they implemented positive change while increasing their intercultural communication skills.”
The students also had the opportunity while in Ecuador to tour the Galàpagos Science Center labs, eat traditional Ecuadorian meals, snorkel with sea lions, immerse in nature full of endemic species, and appreciate the archipelago of the Galàpagos Islands. Cassidy Sullivan, a Terre Haute North Vigo High School Senior, shared, “Through this trip, I have learned a lot about myself, about my leadership style and more Spanish!”
The study abroad trip was fully funded by Lilly Endowment Inc. through its Indiana Youth Programs on Campus initiative that encourages high school students to further develop their growth and global mindsets, culturally immerse and consider future opportunities as leaders in college. Meredith Williams, assistant professor of business and leadership at SMWC and Christiana Wittenmyer, director of choirs at West Vigo High School, volunteered to help LaComba chaperone and guide the students.
Learn more about SMWC C.A.M.P. at The Woods: https://www.smwc.edu/camp-at-the-woods-programs/