The Ecuador program immerses students in sustainable living practices through engagement with the Quechua indigenous community, where they will be learning about traditional farming methods and environmental stewardship. The program participants will embark on a camping and backpacking expedition hiking on a mountain in Imbabura. By the end of the program, students will gain a greater sense of self-identity and community values through team exercises, community-engaged learning projects, and reflection assignments. By engaging the landscape as a living laboratory, experiential learning projects, and small group activities, students will develop a deeper, more mindful, and globally focused understanding of social change theory and practice.
 

Primary Learning Outcomes -Gain a greater understanding of personal and professional values through coursework, sustainable development exercises, community engaged learning projects, reflection writing and video blogs.

-Engage the urban environment as a living laboratory through experiential learning and small group activities.

-Adapt theoretical and practical leadership strategies used to create change in the global landscape.

-Participate in mutual sharing and unstructured intra-cultural dialogue that prepares students to cross boundaries of difference.
 

The Ecuador program is a high-impact, short-term field study designed to immerse students in the ecological, cultural, and socioeconomic complexities of the Andean and Amazonian regions. Located in the mountainous regions in Ecuador, the program strategically combines cultural and eco-immersion with opportunities to live alongside the Quechua community, participate in an outdoor expedition, and learn the traditional ecological knowledge of the Ecuadorian landscape. Through the integration of course readings, classroom discussions, lectures and community-engaged learning projects, this dynamic field-study challenges participants to broaden their theoretical and practical understanding of community, nonprofit and public organizations committed to sustainable living, education, public health and community wellness.