IU’s “International Comparative Exchange: Services for Children with Disabilities” course was born out of a combination of Bryan P. McCormick‘s work in the Balkans as a Fulbright Scholar and my passion for creating programs to support youth impacted by various health conditions. This three-credit summer intensive class, now entering its second year, is offered through the… Read more »
Service Learning
Circle of Sisterhood: Leaving my comfort zone
I’m all about my comfort zone. If that comfort zone was an item, it would be my Nike sneakers—nice, comfortable, and reliable. I know they fit and will carry me to my destination. In May, I packed up my Nikes and boarded a plan from New York’s LaGuardia Airport to Managua, Nicaragura, where I was… Read more »
Circle of Sisterhood: Discovering myself in Nicaragua
After months of discussion and preparation, we had finally arrived in the community of El Toro in Nicaragua. Along with 10 other Panhellenic Association women from Indiana University, I had committed to building a school in a Nicaraguan community. The IU Panhellenic community had spent months of hard work fundraising for Circle of Sisterhood, a… Read more »
Circle of Sisterhood: Finding a home on the other side of the world
Nicaragua is a small country in Latin America just North of Costa Rica. It is the second-poorest country in the region, just behind Haiti. Those living in rural parts of Nicaragua average about 2.1 years of school, and 68 percent of Nicaraguans in rural areas live on less than $1 per day. This is all… Read more »
Circle of Sisterhood: Celebrating the role and work of women
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. – Nelson Mandela About three years ago, a mentor and role model of mine, Katie Nobbe, introduced me to the Circle of Sisterhood Foundation. The mission of the foundation is to leverage the collective influence and resources of sorority women to help… Read more »
IU sorority sisters build school, community in Nicaragua
Thanks in large part to the efforts of a group of sorority women from Indiana University, children in the village of El Toro, Nicaragua, are now attending school in a bright, modern new building with plenty of school supplies and teachers. After raising a collective $40,000 and taking an eight-week preparation class, a group of nine members… Read more »
IU-Serbia Program: Seeing the world through new eyes
Before starting this journey, I had little prior knowledge of Serbia and didn’t know what the culture would be like. Our group from Indiana University had meetings and assignments to prep us before we exited the country, and I learned we would be touring disability specific schools and facilities for individuals with disabilities. In my… Read more »
IU-Serbia program exposes public health students to different therapeutic programs for youth
Through an immersive summer course offered by the Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington, students from IU and the University of Belgrade in Serbia are learning more about how children with disabilities are supported in different cultures. “International Comparative Exchange: Services for Children with Disabilities” was first offered in the summer of 2016, when six… Read more »
Humans of Bloomington project connects students, community
I have never enjoyed teaching a class more than my SPEA V450 class. Students come to the class – a service-learning course focused on social change – with a wide range of backgrounds and experiences and a vision for a better world. While their ideas about what a better world might look like vary considerably,… Read more »
‘There is no better way to learn something than to teach it to others’
Before coming to IU, I worked at a not-for-profit community arts center. The center ran on a shoestring budget supplemented by grants that focused on serving people in the community who had physical, mental, or financial issues that might normally stop them from enrolling in an art class. Through this work, I came to realize… Read more »