VGCC Students Travel for Global Education
With the ever-changing, competitive global economy in mind, a group of Vance-Granville Community College faculty and students recently embarked on the college’s first study abroad ever. The faculty – Button Brady and Steve McGrady of Durham, and Lydia Powell and Margaret Chaves-Smith of Oxford – led eleven students – Michael Abramowitz of Creedmoor, Catherine Adcock of Stem, Jeannette Bailey and Kara Fleming of Henderson, Michelle Cordova and Amanda May of Wake Forest, Karen Fawcett of Oxford, William Helmke of Zebulon, Meredith Landen of Raleigh, Terrence Murtagh of Granville County, and Amy Parrish of Louisburg – on a twenty-five-day educational trip to Costa Rica during May and June.
On August 15, during the college’s fall convocation, the four faculty members were honored by VGCC President Randy Parker with the 2006 President’s Leadership Award for their efforts.
More than one year before the trip, Brady, McGrady, Powell, and Chaves-Smith initiated Vance-Granville’s Global Studies program, with the intention of leading a study abroad. Costa Rica was the obvious choice, since Chaves-Smith was a native of Costa Rica and Powell, a former resident of Nicaragua, had visited the country many times.
The group raised funds for travel through a variety of means over the next year, including bake sales, yard sales, candy sales, and raffles. Some donations “came out of the blue,” according to Powell. “We were grateful that many individuals and businesses in the community volunteered to help,” she said.
Powell, a psychology instructor and twenty-four-year VGCC veteran, arranged most of the tours, trips and accommodations, while Chaves-Smith, a Spanish instructor, and science instructors Brady and McGrady taught lessons in their respective fields. “Costa Rica is the ideal place to teach a course like environmental biology,” McGrady noted. “The whole country is like one big environmental biology lab.”
Classes could be held anywhere and at any time. “Everything was a teachable moment,” Powell said. To Powell, who speaks Spanish fluently, the most important lessons the students learned may have been “understanding a different culture, learning about the religion, the importance of family, and the love of the land.” She also noted that students were asked to consider the importance of protecting the environment and supporting “eco-tourism” in the global economy.
“The people of Costa Rica are very open and helpful to foreigners,” Chaves-Smith added. “Our students were nervous at first about the language, but then they learned they could try speaking Spanish without being laughed at.” Chaves-Smith brought a unique perspective and took the group to her hometown, Coronado.
The group visited six different locations, which took them from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific, through exotic rain forests, “cloud forests,” coffee manufacturing facilities, and banana plantations. “Every step brought a new thrill” due to the variety of plant and animal life, Brady recalled. That included crocodiles, howler monkeys, and the small, rarely glimpsed quetzal bird.
“We were pleasantly surprised at how hard-working and adventurous the students were throughout the trip,” said Powell. That included the unique experience of eating termites (“They taste like pepper,” Powell recalled) at an organic farm. Powell said that the students loved the (more traditional) local food and were fascinated by the customs and traditions specific to Costa Rica. They also noticed that locals were not fazed by a volcano partially exploding.
Only two of the students already had passports before they began planning for the trip, and half had not traveled outside North Carolina. “It was a great opportunity for them, at a good price,” Powell said. The students remarked later that the trip was well-planned, and all said that they wanted to return to Costa Rica. Faculty members hope that this was only the first of many studies abroad. Many students have already started inquiring about the possibility of a trip next summer.
Above: The VGCC study-abroad group poses in front of the Mono Azul Hotel at the Manuel Antonio National Park and Beach on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast.
Front row, from Left to Right: Margaret Chaves-Smith, Button Brady, Amy Parrish, Lydia Powell, Billy Helmke, Jeannette Bailey, Amanda May, Meredith Landen, Cathy Adcock. Back row, from Left to Right: Michelle Cordova, Steve McGrady, Kara Fleming, T.J. Murtagh, Michael Abramowitz (VGCC Photo).
