My First Week in Honduras
It’s been a whirlwind of a week! After traveling Sunday and Monday, I started teaching at Good Shepherd Bilingual School on Tuesday morning. My students had gym class first thing in the morning, so after saying good morning, our class lined up and walked around the school to a field for relay races, jump rope, and soccer. As we walked down the dirt road toward the field, two little girls ran up and took my hands as we walked. In that moment, after two days of travel and countless things that I had never seen or experienced before, something clicked and felt right. As I look forward to the next few months, I know it’s not going to be easy but somehow this is where I’m supposed to be right now.
I’m teaching and living in Camasca, a very cute town on the frontera, or border with El Salvador. Here, you’ll walk down cobblestone streets, taking in colorful terra cotta buildings with metal grilles over the windows and bright hibiscus and rhododendron blooming here and there. Good Shepherd Bilingual School is very cute, with classrooms for Pre-K through fourth grade that forms a courtyard. Just outside of the gates is a playground. I’ll be in charge of teaching second grade English and spend my mornings as the teaching assistant. Lessons focus on English, Spanish, and Math. I’ve helped with English lessons, especially with pronunciation and coaxing kids into keeping up with the lesson in their notebooks.
There are 25 students in my class, all 7-8 years old. There’s a range of heights and weights of the children: a handful of children are well-fed and bright-eyed, while another handful of kids are very small, with unhealthy teeth, clearly under or malnourished. The rest of the class falls somewhere in between. The school serves leche, or milk, around 9:30 or 10 in the morning, as well as lunch around noon, so children can count on that nourishment.
My first week here has been a humbling experience but I’m ready to keep teaching and learning. I hope you’ll follow along on my blog https://rebeccascompassrose.wordpress.com/. Thanks for reading!
Community Partner: Summer On The Cuyahoga
SUMMER ON THE CUYAHOGA, Cleveland’s premier internship program, is now seeking paid college internships for its 15th summer of contributing to Northeast Ohio’s brain gain. Employers can register intern opportunities for free at www.summeronthecuyahoga to tap into thousands of talented, top-notch students from eight campuses: Case Western Reserve University, Colgate University, Cornell University, Denison University, Ohio Wesleyan University, Smith University, the University of Chicago, and Yale University. Cleveland employers such as KeyBank, BioMotiv, and DDR have employed Summer on the Cuyahoga interns for years and even hired a number of those interns full-time after they graduated.
“By partnering with SOTC’s program, not only do we have access to hundreds of potentially qualified candidates, but we are able to obtain very high-caliber interns with real-world experiences,” said Jodi Marchewitz, director of resource development and intern experiences with Flashstarts, the Cleveland startup accelerator.
Watch our SOTC video here: https://youtu.be/RKe1fqTT_tA
Since expanding from the Yale-only Bulldogs on the Cuyahoga in 2003, more than 800 interns from around the world have enjoyed spending their summers immersing themselves in Greater Cleveland. The students work full-time during the day, but spend their nights and weekends exploring the civic, cultural and recreational attractions that have turned Northeast Ohio into a world-class destination for young people. More than 125 Summer on the Cuyahoga alumni have returned to The Land to start their careers, with others still clamoring for jobs here.
SOTC is the only college internship program that gives students the opportunity to live as young professionals in Downtown Cleveland, for FREE. The program provides housing for about 70 interns at Cleveland State University, as well as introductions and opportunities to network with local alumni from their universities. This creates a special connection to the region and some of its biggest advocates that often lasts well beyond their summer here.
SOTC’s ultimate goal is to have interns build professional relationships and permanently locate in Greater Cleveland. But even if the interns do not move here, they take their SOTC experience back to their campuses and hometowns, and let their communities know that our region is a great place to live, work, do business, and visit.
For more information, please contact Jean Koehler at [email protected].
Volunteering is uplifting, inspiring, and joyous!
As a volunteer for Global Cleveland, I am in awe of the courage, confidence, conviction, determination, faith, and perseverance that motivates people from around the world to cast off from their known environment toward a new life in this dynamic and complex nation.
To have the opportunity to bear witness to the achievement of citizenship and offer a humble, heartfelt welcome and congratulations is a blessing and an honor.
When I see the smiles, hugs, photos with family, friends, and mentors; the marvelous attire people wear in honor of their heritage; experience the universally understood emotions of pride, hope, optimism, and gratitude that new citizens share at the ceremony; see the eagerness and immediate opportunity to participate in democracy by registering to vote- I feel an immediate connection and kinship with my new neighbors.
The social and economic fabric of our community and our nation are enriched and energized by the talents, traditions, and experiences our new neighbors bring with them to America.
The experience is uplifting, inspiring, and joyous. As my pastor aptly put it this past Sunday,"We are all International Newcomers." It gives me the chance to experience the excitement my grandparents must have felt when they came to this country in the not too distant past. Everyone should take the opportunity to experience attending a naturalization ceremony and reflect on who and how came before you to help give you the life you have today.
Lis Kroepel, Global Cleveland Volunteer
International Women’s Day: Women in Power
Women in Power will be held on Thursday, March 9th, 2017 in Cleveland State University’s Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs atrium at 5:30pm. The event is in honor of International Women’s Day which is celebrated all around the world on March 8th. International Women’s Day has been observed since the early 1900s; it was a time of industrialization, a growing population, and new ideologies. Today, International Women’s Day celebrates the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women recently and across history. Specific to 2017, the campaign theme is “Be Bold for Change”.
With the current changes in The United States’ politics and many protests and marches occurring across the country, the CSU Center for International Services and Programs would like to bring forward influential women in Cleveland to speak on campus. The women will speak about their rise into a position of influence and how their experiences have been. The three speakers are: Margaret Mitchell (President and CEO of Cleveland YWCA), Radhika Reddy (Founder and partner of Ariel Ventures, LLC), and Heather Hodges (President of Cleveland Council on World Affairs and former US Ambassador in Ecuador). All three of these women have proven themselves to be leaders in their industry and are inspirational to students.
The CSU Center for International Services and Programs would like to invite Cleveland professionals to hear the three keynote speakers and network with Cleveland State Students after the formal presentations. Thanks go out to Global Cleveland for supporting the event and a fabulous panel of student organizers for making Women in Power possible. For more information please see the CSU International Center’s website here: http://www.csuohio.edu/international/upcoming-eventsworkshops or email the organizer, Rita Kizys, at [email protected]. If you would like to learn about International Women’s Day as a whole there is an informational website online: https://www.internationalwomensday.com/ .
2017 Cleveland Humanities Festival explores timeless (and timely) issue of Migration
Second annual humanities festival unites 25 of Northeast Ohio’s cultural institutions for artistic and educational events from March 15-April 24, including a presentation by Vicente Fox, the former president of Mexico.
The history and contemporary shape of Migration in Northeast Ohio—itself a rich fabric of diverse neighborhoods and cultural traditions—sets the stage for the second annual Cleveland Humanities Festival.
Most of the events—lectures, exhibits, theatrical performances, tours, and films—are free and open to the public, though many require registration at chf.case.edu/events.
“Exile, Migration, deportation, Migration—the history of every nation includes challenges and opportunities caused by the movement of people. Nowhere is this more true than in our own country,” said Peter Knox, director of the Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities at Case Western Reserve University, which is coordinating the festival.
“We hope people think about this topic in new and challenging ways, with the humanities as our gateway,” Knox added.
The opening keynote will be delivered on March 23 by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., host of the PBS program, Finding Your Roots, and history professor at Harvard University.
On April 3, Vicente Fox, former president of Mexico and a sharp critic of President Donald Trump, will discuss Migration reform in a free public address.
“I hope people gain a richer appreciation for how Migration shapes our communities,” said Knox, who holds the university’s Eric and Jane Nord Family Professorship. “That may be a deeper interest in their family background; a sense of sympathy for current Displaced Persons or migrant groups; or perhaps an energized attitude toward helping new members of our communities.”
The festival, which debuted last year, has become an annual fixture in Cleveland, with a new theme each year that engages the public by addressing meaningful issues and pressing concerns.
“The humanities help us understand who we are, what we’ve done and created along the way,” Knox said. “I understand that some will think Migration is a politically charged theme, but we’re not treating it that way, nor are we taking any side of a political question. We’re here to think more deeply about this unmistakable force.”
Highlighted events
- March 24 - Author of A Polish Doctor in the Nazi Camps, Barbara Rylko-Bauer tells her mother’s story of World War II imprisonment to examine how echoes from the past are re-appearing.
- March 25 – New York Times columnist Anand Giridharadas will deliver his A Tale of Two Americas TED Talk.
- March 27 - Pulitzer-Prize winning playwright Ayad Akhtar will discuss the Muslim experience in America.
- March 27 - Who Should Enter the Golden Door: American Migration Policy in Historical Perspective, a lecture by John Grabowski, the Krieger-Mueller Joint Professor in History at Case Western Reserve.
- March 29 - Norwegian composer, and accordionist Frode Haltli teams up with Swedish nyckelharpa virtuoso Emilia Amper for an evening of Scandinavian folk-inspired music.
- March 31- When Away Becomes Home: The Displaced Persons Crisis and Opportunities for Welcome in Northeast Ohio (sponsored by Global Cleveland)
- April 3 –Vicente Fox, former president of Mexico, will emphasize why America must establish sensible pathways for citizenship for undocumented International Newcomers.
- April 5 - International Newcomers in Ohio, Global Cleveland a nonprofit focused on population growth and regional economic development will share five things about newcomers in northeastern Ohio that are engines to our communitys revitalization and greatness
Events take place at Case Western Reserve and at many partner institutions in the region.
Facts and figures
There are 25 Northeast Ohio partners for the 2017 Cleveland Humanities Festival: Migration.
They are: Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards, Apollo’s Fire, Armenian Cultural Organization, the Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities, Books@Work, Cleveland Archaeological Society, Cleveland Cinematheque, Cleveland History Center, Cleveland Institute of Music, Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland Play House, Cuyahoga Community College, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Dittrick Museum of Medical History, Facing History and Ourselves, Global Cleveland, Kelvin Smith Library, Lake View Cemetery Foundation, Literary Cleveland, Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage, Montessori High School at University Circle, Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Cleveland, Schubert Center for Child Studies, University Circle Inc., and Wick Poetry Center at Kent State University.
Funding is provided by Ohio Humanities and Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.
The festival is coordinated by the Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities at Case Western Reserve University, which was founded in 1996 with a gift from Eric and Jane Nord. The center supports research and creative endeavors and hosts humanities events around the region.
In 2018, the Cleveland Humanities Festival will focus on health and health care. The inaugural event, in spring 2016, explored the impacts of war.
Case Western Reserve University is one of the country's leading private research institutions. Located in Cleveland, we offer a unique combination of forward-thinking educational opportunities in an inspiring cultural setting. Our leading-edge faculty engage in teaching and research in a collaborative, hands-on environment. Our nationally recognized programs include arts and sciences, dental medicine, engineering, law, management, medicine, nursing and social work. About 5,100 undergraduate and 6,200 graduate students comprise our student body. Visit case.edu to see how Case Western Reserve thinks beyond the possible.
