Hungry for a little adventure overseas? Seeking to visit far off lands while looking for service opportunities to help those in need? Then perhaps UC Clermont has just the course for you.
Next spring, UC Clermont is offering students the opportunity to participate in service learning as well as study abroad in Sri Lanka through intermediate composition, English 2089. Students who sign up for this program will take this English course in Spring semester 2016, and then at the end of finals week, will fly to Sri Lanka for the three-week service learning and study abroad component. As part of an experiential learning program, students will be engaged in volunteering at the local community level, while also learning firsthand about the Sri Lankan culture and history.
The trip, which lasts from April 23 to May 13 of next year, will incorporate out-of-the-classroom learning experiences by having students participate in a service learning project with the nonprofit organization Volunteer Sri Lanka. Volunteers in past trips have given their time to work with local orphanages, a preschool for street children, a state-run teenage girl’s home, as well teaching basic conversational English to school children. Through these experiences, students will gain vast cross-culture knowledge and will form life-long memories, while positively impacting the lives of countless disadvantaged children.
In addition to the service learning opportunity, the course itself—English 2089 Hybrid Course: Discovering Discourse Communities—will challenge students with various reading assignments, research projects, essays, and will all culminate with a multi-media project about their experience abroad at the end of the semester. While abroad, students will also have the chance to get out and have some fun learning about Sri Lankan culture by visiting Buddhist temples, volunteering at an elephant refuge, trekking through a rainforest, going on a jungle safari, and exploring ancient Sri Lankan ruins.
Eligible students should have at least 30 credit hours and will still need to take Intermediate Composition (English 2089). This entire experience only costs around $1,700 and amenities such as lodging, transportation, most meals, and airfare are included. Only fifteen students can be selected, and so spaces will fill up quickly. Applications are currently being accepted, via this link: https://studyabroad.uc.edu/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.ViewProgram&Program_ID=10151
The deadline to apply for the course program is Thursday, December 10, 2015. For more information about the program, please contact course instructor Amy Abafo, at amy.abafo@uc.edu. If you would like to know more about Volunteer Sri Lanka, check out volunteersrilanka.net.
