| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 65.05 |
| Liaison | Konrad Schlarbaum |
| Submission Date | Feb. 15, 2021 |
University of Colorado Colorado Springs
AC-5: Immersive Experience
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Mandy
Hansen Director Office of International Affairs |
Does the institution offer at least one immersive, sustainability-focused educational study program that is one week or more in length?:
A brief description of the sustainability-focused immersive program(s) offered by the institution:
UCCS is partnering with the organization Hug It Forward, a grassroots organization that promotes education and raises environmental awareness by empowering communities in Guatemala to build bottle schools. Bottle schools are constructed using "eco-bricks" which are plastic bottles stuffed with inorganic trash in the place of cinder blocks. Volunteers and the community come together to help construct these sturdy buildings. Participants in this program will volunteer working side by side with the community to help construct these buildings while learning about Guatemalan culture and history through cultural excursions like to ancient Mayan ruins. Participants will also enjoy making personal connections with those communities and individuals that they are working with.
This trip requires grit, empathy, compassion, and an interest in learning more about the community we are entering. Participants should expect to start each day with an intention to serve and learn and convene with a reflection. This reflection may materialize in many forms as each participant will experience each day differently. This service-learning experience provides team building, memories that last a lifetime, and opportunities to learn about yourself as a participant as well as the communities you serve.
Website URL where information about the institution’s immersive education programs is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The Service Learning-Building Bottle Schools in Guatemala ran in 2019 and 2018, but was affected in 2020 due to COVID-19.
The Service Learning-Building Bottle Schools in Guatemala ran in 2019 and 2018, but was affected in 2020 due to COVID-19.
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