Augsburg CGEE is currently hiring for our next IRA (“International Resident Assistant”) to work at our Cuernavaca, Mexico campus.
The International Resident Assistant will help promote a healthy living/learning environment for semester students & participants in short-term educational seminars, as well as to assist in the operation of all educational programs.
Please see the full description, along with the application, at Augsburg’s employment opportunities page.
Did you know – as an Augsburg College student, you have access to study abroad programs in 90 different countries around the globe (including USA programs)? Here is one Auggie’s global story in our new blog segment #AuggiesGoGlobal:
Major:
English literature, language, theory, and creative writing
Minor:
Business administration
When did you study abroad?
Fall 2015 semester
Where, and on which program, did you go abroad?
Dublin– Writer’s Program
Why did you choose that program?
I chose this program because it fit perfectly with both of my majors. It was a good fit because it helped me to get credits toward graduating and also was a good country to live in for my first time out of the US. While it is not extremely similar to the states, Ireland offered some familiarity to me as also being a westernized country, which made the process of culture shock a bit easier to handle.
Continue reading “#AuggiesGoGlobal Featured Student: Danny P.”
This is a guest blog post by Crystal Winkelman, a St. Cloud State University student currently participating on CGEE’s program, “Social Work in a Latin American Context.”
The first month and a half in Cuernavaca has been such an adventure! It started off rocky with about five days in bed with a viral infection, a bacterial infection, and a delayed plane ride! Although the first week was not the adventure I had hoped for, it soon turned into more of what I was hoping for. Having the opportunity to visit the rural area of Amatlan showed me a way of life that I would not have gotten the opportunity to experience otherwise. Hiking up a mountain with my host family to see the beautiful mountains and town of Amatlan before sunset was my favorite memory with my host family. (Middle right)
This is this English translation of Father Fernando Cardenal’s September 2010 testament – a selection of which, was read at his funeral recently in Managua. See the video of the sermon from the mass celebrating his life here (en español). Translation provided by Mark Lester, CGEE Central America Regional Director.
TESTAMENT
Why do I hope to go to Paradise after my death?
Soon I will celebrate my 77th birthday, and even though I am not retired and continue working, it is natural at my age to think, simply and without any drama, that death could be close. At any moment. A massive heart attack, a sudden rise in blood pressure (I do have hypertension), a car accident could take me to my death without being able to communicate with my family, my fellow Jesuits and my friends. That is why it occurred to me to write down now the reflections that I would like to be communicated at the hour of my death. This I do now. First, I will make some religious reflections, then some about the current situation of Nicaragua, and I end leaving two tasks for my Jesuit Superiors and family. Everything that I tell you comes from the very depths of my heart.
This blog post was written lovingly by Kathleen McBride, Central America Regional Director, in memory of a great man, Father Fernando Cardenal.
For those of you who met Father Cardenal, we are sad to share the news of his death. On Feb 2nd, Father Cardenal went into the hospital for a hernia operation. His health began to deteriorate five days after the surgery as a result of septic shock due to peritonitis. After 18 days in the hospital he died in Intensive Care on Feb 20th.
For those of you who met Father Fernando on your journey to Nicaragua either recently or during the 80´s, you will remember a stunning tall white haired man with tender blue eyes who spoke of conversion, transformation, action and consequences – the story of a life dedicated to social justice.
Fernando was an unusual Jesuit. He joined the Sandinista Revolution clandestinely in the early 70’s during the struggle against the Somoza Dictatorship. After the overthrow of the dictator in 1979, he served as the National coordinator of the Literacy Campaign which brought the national illiteracy rate down from over 50% to 12.9% in a 5 month period. The effort won the highest award from the United Nations. Later he served as the Minister of Education during the Sandinista Revolution. Because of his involvement in the Sandinista government, Father Cardenal was expelled from the Jesuits in 1984 by the Superior General Father Kolvenbach at the insistence of Pope John Paul II. In 1997 Father Cardenal was reinstated to the Society of Jesus as his case was considered an authentic case of conscientious objection – the only case in 460 years of Jesuit history of a Jesuit expelled and reinstated.
His memoirs, now in English (Faith and Joy: Memoirs of a Revolutionary Priest) recount his journey from the time of his conversion in Colombia as a result of his experience with the poor in a marginalized neighborhood on the outskirts of the city of Medellin all the way to his entry into the Sandinista Front and his work in the Revolution, his expulsion from the Jesuits and his return to the Society of Jesus. His story is a remarkable story of love, hope and a lived out preferential option for the poor of a man of faith.
CGEE mourns the loss of this remarkable man whose life of commitment has touched so many.
This is a guest post by Rachael Manser, student at Gustavus Adolphus College, who went abroad on a Custom Short Term Program to Cuba with Augsburg CGEE January 2016.
The spring 2016 semester programs in Mexico, Central America, and Southern Africa will be hosting an Instagram photo contest from January 20 – May 20, 2016.
To be eligible to win a $50 gift card to Target, you must:
CGEE programs encourage thoughtful reflection during and after any study abroad experience. One student recently returned from our Central America semester program, has written a piece on her identity as a Malaysian citizen who came to the US to study as an International Student, then went on to be the only International Student in her study abroad cohort to Central America with a group of US citizens.
Continue reading “Reflections from an International Student in Central America”
Photos from Augsburg College Student, Marquell Moorer, currently abroad at Augsburg’s Global Campus in Mexico.
This is a guest post by James Tan, the parent of a CGEE semester student on our Central America program, Nicole Tan (Colorado College). He was able to visit her in Nicaragua during one of the last remaining weeks on the fall 2015 program.
Challenging, innovative and transformative, this outstanding academic program gives a connective learning immersion across Guatemala, Costa Rica and Nicaragua. As a visiting parent, I observed first hand the diverse aspects; from faculty instruction to field coordinators, student engagement to coursework content, and immersive field exposure gained across the countries.
Individualized language classes start at Guatemala. Continue reading “Reflections of a CGEE Parent”
