First student to participate in Global Field Study program
When Beatrice Schreiber packs her bags for her summer immersion program, she’ll be including altitude sickness pills. That’s because she’s headed to Ladakh, India — a spectacular area between the Himalayan and Karakoram mountain ranges. With an elevation of about 10,000 feet, altitude sickness is a very real concern – though not enough to deter Schreiber. Traveling to a developing country to provide humanitarian support is a long-held dream of Schreiber’s (pictured here with her hero Jane Goodall).
Schreiber’s Ladakh trip is the result of a partnership between AULA graduate psychology program and WorldTeach — a non-profit organization that provides teacher training to volunteers and places them in English language classrooms around the world. Beatrice will be part of a unique 3 unit credit course, 5120 Global Field Study, which AULA developed around the World Teach program.
AULU psychology faculty member Grant Elliott brought the program to Antioch and designed a supporting curriculum to enhance student learning. “One of the most valuable skills a therapist can develop is multicultural competence,” says Elliott. “And one of the most effective ways help achieve this is to immerse oneself in an unknown environment.”
Schreiber is the first Antioch student to participate in the program and credits the “contagious enthusiasm” of Elliott for motivating her to sign up. She is gaining credit toward the completion of her degree from her participation.
While WorldTeach’s typical volunteer commitment is 11 months, it’s Summer of Impact program is geared toward students and teachers who only have summer months available. Schreiber’s Ladakh trip will span five weeks. Time enough, she hopes, to have a positive impact on the children she teaches and create a lasting influence on her own development: “I’m hoping to broaden my horizon by living with a family from a much different culture from me. It will also be a challenge because I have never taught children or worked with children.”
Currently, WorldTeach has summer programs in Brazil, Ecuador, India, Morocco, Namibia and South Africa. Schreiber, whose MA in Psychology will include a Spiritual and Depth Psychology Specialization, chose Ladakh because of its strong spiritual traditions: “It’s a place where Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam co-exist peacefully. I feel that being in such presence will ground me, because I will live life in a very basic way where human relationships and spirituality matter most, which is much different from our very materialistic way of living in the U.S.”
Although Schreiber will be living very simply during her stay in Ladakh (possibly staying with a host family, or even living among monks at a 1,000 year old monastery), the cost of the trip is significant (program costs, not including airfare, are more than $4,000). All WorldTeach volunteers are expected to help raise funds to support their placement. Toward that end, Schreiber has created a donation page on the crowd-sourcing website YouCaring.
Professor Elliott encourages anyone interested in participating in the 5120 Global Field Study/WorldTeach program as part of their Antioch education to start planning now for summer 2018. For more information on locations visit the WorldTeach website or for information about 5120 Global Field Study email questions to [email protected].
