This summer, a group of Augsburg students are exploring the biodiversity and environmental politics of New Zealand and the Cook Islands with biology professor Brian Corner and political science professor Joe Underhill. The professors and students have been keeping detailed accounts of their experiences on two blogs: Augsburg BioLOG and Augsburg New Zealand Trip.
At left is Franz Josef Glacier, and what follows is a posting from the BioLOG by Richmond Appleton. Continue reading “Auggies in New Zealand”
Today the world is a small place. The population continues to grow while perceptions of distances and differences are minimized by faster and smarter ways for the world’s citizens to connect. That reality means we are confronted daily with the effects our actions can have on people not just across the table but also across the globe.
Who wouldn’t want to spend a semester in the “city of eternal spring”? Ask Antonio Ortega, a staff member at the Center for Global Education’s study site in Cuernavaca, Mexico. “I think students have been to Cancun or Acapulco and think ‘I’ve been there, done that.’ They think Mexico, as a place to study, is not as interesting as Europe or South Africa,” he said.
Growing up, Nou Chang never imagined she would spend three months studying in another country. As a Hmong woman, studying abroad was not culturally accepted, nor was it financially feasible for her family. Despite these obstacles, Nou is “in a dream” in Seoul, South Korea where she is studying for a semester at Yonsei University on a Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) program. She applied for and was awarded the Gilman International Scholarship Program, which offers grants for undergraduate students of limited financial means to pursue academic studies abroad. 
While many Mexicans are heading north to Minneapolis, Augsburg students Courtnie Higgins and Sarah Mueller have headed south for a semester at Augsburg´s Center for Global Education (CGE) campus in Minneapolis’ newest sister-city, Cuernavaca, Mexico.
On a bright afternoon in late July, ten women from Augsburg College boarded a plane bound for Guatemala City. They were six students representing the day, weekend, and graduate programs, two faculty, and two staff members. Before this flight they were acquainted perhaps only casually, but the next nine days would change not only their relationships with each other but also their ideas about themselves. Their trip, sponsored by Augsburg’s Center for Teaching and Learning and Augsburg Abroad, was partially funded by the Hoversten Peace Endowment. 
How can a major metropolitan area — with all its concrete, glass, and steel — be green? How can it be eco-friendly and implement measures that will ensure its healthy future? That is precisely what students in the Sustainable Cities summer course are attempting to discover. Sociology professors Nancy Fischer and Lars Christiansen are leading a group of students through Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, British Columbia to examine different facets of sustainability in an urban context. The course is a faculty-led seminar through Augsburg Abroad. 
Students who study abroad often return home and tell of profound, life-changing lessons. Through their programs, students come into contact with a wide range of people and circumstances, and many of these encounters lead students to explore careers or ways of life they had previously not considered. Augsburg’s Center for Global Education sums up this experience with a promise: “See the world through another’s eyes, and your world will never be the same.” 
Just after the May commencement ceremony, a group of students traveled to Thailand with English professor Kathy Swanson. The students were on a short-term summer study program through Augsburg Abroad.