By Eric House
Neither a global pandemic nor an Ebola outbreak could stop Mary Thibodeau from studying abroad. As an alum of both SIT Rwanda and SIT’s global MA in Humanitarian Assistance and Crisis Management, her study abroad journey has been one of unexpected developments that ultimately shaped her into the global citizen she is today.
According to Mary, when it came to studying abroad, it was “always Rwanda.” Passionate about international studies and peacebuilding, she conducted a three-year research project on the impacts of reconciliation programs in schools and communities in post-genocide Rwanda while an undergrad. This was on top of a packed schedule at Elon University, where as an undergraduate, Mary was double majoring in political science with a concentration in international studies and international and global studies with a concentration in Africa.
In January 2020, she was accepted to SIT’s post-genocide restoration and peacebuilding program in Rwanda.
Then came the Covid-19 pandemic. International travel halted, and SIT stopped its programming to keep students safe. Mary was finally able to go to Rwanda in the fall of 2020.
Study abroad prepared me to expect the unexpected.
Despite the social distancing and masking, SIT maintained its commitment to experiential learning.
For Mary, it was particularly impactful to not just read articles but to meet real people with stories to tell while witnessing the great measures taken to maintain peace in Rwanda after genocide.
“What SIT did was bring people from the community to our classroom, which was great. Just getting to talk to people one-on-one was really interesting, even when the topic of genocide was so sensitive,” Mary said. “That was such a valuable experience because reading something is one thing, but getting to actually talk to people is so important. That experience honed my desire to work in this field and say, ‘Okay, I’m gonna do this.’”
Aligning with her ongoing research at Elon University, Mary conducted research about locally led justice processes in Rwanda for her Independent Study Project (ISP) with SIT. These Gacaca courts, as they were called, played a primary role in bringing peace to the country after the genocide.
She was struck by the disparity between scholarly research written by mostly white, Western men about the failures of those local peace processes versus what she saw and heard from the people who went through it.
“Every person we talked to up to that point talked about how successful the justice program was, how it wasn’t a Western judicial process, but it was an African-style judicial process,” she said. “So, my research focused on the actual perspectives of people who went through the genocide and then the Gacaca courts.”
Mary met with both survivors and perpetrators of the genocide, as well as judges and community members, to ensure all voices were heard. At the end of almost every interview, each interviewee asked that their stories be shared to help correct misconceptions about Rwanda and emphasize how far they’ve come.
Mary said SIT took great measures to ensure that every student’s mental health was taken care of. To balance the heavy nature of the topics they discussed, they also had lighter experiences, such as making their own coffee from Rwandan coffee bean fields.
It was an experience that she described as “incredible,” and made for a true launching pad into the next phase of her academic and professional career. After graduating, she went looking for graduate programs that emphasized on-the-ground international experience and came across SIT’s global master’s in humanitarian assistance and crisis management.
She was enticed by the program’s travel to multiple countries, which was originally intended to be Jordan and Uganda. But after she was accepted, an Ebola outbreak hit Uganda forcing SIT to reshape the program. Mary saw this as a great example of how international practitioners often have to think on their feet and change course unexpectedly.
“Our professors emphasized that this was just a common element of crisis management and that we have to get used to not knowing things because when there’s a crisis, you won’t always know where you’re going,” she said. “It was almost like real-life practice for our future jobs.”
The program took Mary’s cohort to Jordan, Turkey, and Serbia, which allowed her to compare what she had just experienced in Rwanda with that in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also a post-genocide society.
The opportunities to be abroad and to meet people in the field, especially through SIT’s master’s programs, are genuinely preparing you for the job.
The curriculum included a semester where students could choose their own country. As a French speaker, Mary chose Morocco. While there, she worked full-time for a refugee organization in their grants department and assisted with workshops amongst African refugee service providers.
Concurrently, she completed her thesis, which reviewed Tanzanian and international organizations’ water and sanitation policies through a decolonized perspective and was later published.
After graduating from the MA program in August 2023, she quickly began her current role as a program associate at the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative in the Africa division. There, she says every day is an opportunity to draw upon both of her study abroad experiences.
“The opportunities to be abroad and to meet people in the field, especially through SIT’s master’s programs, are genuinely preparing you for the job,” she said. “For example, at SIT, we had classes on writing proposals, and I have directly used that work when I’ve been working on proposals for my job. SIT just really prepares you for the actual work.”
Mary is also still in touch with her homestay family from Jordan and receives a text from her homestay neighbor almost every day.
As each of her programs shifted gears, Mary learned how to think and act on her feet and was equipped with the hard skills used in her everyday work, ultimately shaping her as a researcher, practitioner, and global citizen. “Study abroad prepared me to expect the unexpected,” she said. “I 100 percent recommend it to anyone who’s considering it.”
Visit one of the world’s Seven Wonders and learn about Nabatean sustainable practices
In summer 2024, SIT launches a timely and engaging community-based internship in climate change and sustainability. Based in Amman, Jordan, this program offers diverse opportunities for students in a wide range of disciplines to experience and participate in community-based approaches to climate and sustainability. We checked in with Academic Director Raed Al Tabini to find out more about SIT Jordan: Internship in Climate Change and Sustainability.
What are the main disciplines students will be studying?
This program looks at climate and sustainability issues through multiple lenses, including science, policy, and community-based solutions. It is relevant for students of political science, environmental or climate science, ecology, sustainability studies, environmental policy, renewable energy, economics, social and cultural studies, ethics and philosophy, and interdisciplinary research.
Describe a typical excursion on your program.
During the excursion to Petra, students will get the unique chance to experience not only one of the Seven Wonders of the World, but also the ancient Nabatean people’s sustainable resource management practices. Amidst the incredible setting of this UNESCO World Heritage site, students will examine how ancient Nabatean communities effectively managed their resources and adopted best practices, as well as the region’s current environmental challenges. This excursion combines cultural heritage exploration with an in-depth look at sustainable resource management, providing an extensive understanding of historical sustainability and its connection to today’s global climate and sustainability challenges.
What will a typical day look like for a student on this program?
When their internship begins, students will go to their internship sites from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., gaining hands-on experience in a non-governmental organization, community development project, or with vulnerable communities. After a productive day at their internship, students return to their host families for a meal, which provides an authentic taste of local cuisine as well as an opportunity to bond with their host families. Following that, they have free time to explore Amman on their own, possibly visiting historical sites, markets, or participating in local initiatives, immersing themselves in the local culture, and enhancing their program experience.
What type of activity might a student experience with their homestay family?
It’s common for students to help prepare and share traditional Jordanian meals with their homestay families. In the evenings, students may assist in the kitchen with dinner preparation, learning to prepare traditional specialties such as mansaf. This not only increases their cultural immersion but also is an opportunity to chat and engage with members of their host family. When dinner is ready, everyone gathers around the table to enjoy the delicious home-cooked meals. In summer, students may attend special events such as weddings or family gatherings, which provide a unique insight into Jordanian customs, celebrations, and hospitality. These types of activities make homestay experience really unforgettable.
What is an example of an internship that a student might do?
One example is an environmental policy internship, where students have the opportunity to actively engage in environmental advocacy and policy work. They will work with an organization’s dedicated team on a variety of tasks, including conducting research to support evidence-based policy proposals, assisting in the development of advocacy campaigns promoting environmental justice, or contributing to policy document draft proposals. Students might also organize and coordinate initiatives that connect human rights and environmental issues, earning significant experience in advocacy work. This internship provides not only practical skill development but also the opportunity to make a significant influence in the field of environmental justice.
What is one unique thing about Jordan?
Jordan’s iconic representation lies in its extraordinary commitment to social diversity and its welcoming stance towards refugees. More than 2 million refugees find safety and shelter within the country’s borders. This significance highlights the nation’s humanitarian tradition, cultural diversity, and global impact. Jordan’s open-door policy not only enriches its social fabric, but also showcases Jordan’s resilience and strength.
Find out more about SIT’s International Honors Program in Human Rights
This post was originally published on the Cornell College News Center. It is reprinted here with permission.
Cornell College senior Annabella Poulos has earned the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship and is traveling abroad to Nepal, Jordan, and Chile this semester.
The Gilman Scholarship is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and provides Pell Grant recipients with funding to be used toward internships or study opportunities abroad. “Last academic year, I found the IHP Human Rights Program offered through the School for International Training (SIT) Study Abroad. It’s an honors program for students that moves between three different countries throughout the semester,” Poulos said. “This was appealing to me because I would have the ability to experience three completely different cultures and communities and get a more hands-on approach to learning about human rights issues around the world.”
I am also doing a research project in all three countries on spatial justice through migration, citizenship rights, and right to land.
Poulos takes five courses in each country, language, Research Methods, Civil Society’s Role in Human Rights, Foundations of Human Rights, and Comparative Issues in Human Rights. He focuses on studying different human rights violations within each country, examining the similarities and differences.
“I am also doing a research project in all three countries on spatial justice through migration, citizenship rights, and right to land,” Poulos said. “This is something that I have been interested in throughout my studies at Cornell and have done previous research in other classes. It also ties into my future career goals of working to help migrants and refugees connect to their new home and community when entering the country.”
This Milwaukee, Wisconsin, native says this is the first time he has left the country. He says it’s one thing to read about these cultures in books, but it’s something else entirely to experience it in person.
“Some of my biggest takeaways from this program are the rights surrounding migrant workers and the struggles they face every day,” Poulos said. “Hearing personal stories and being able to learn about real cases and issues that people have and are going through has truly changed my perspective on transient workers and their rights. Tying into this, understanding the importance of citizenship documentation and having a home country, especially in the Middle East, has tied greatly into most of the issues we discuss every day.”
Poulos, who is a religion major at Cornell, worked with Assistant Professor Chris Hoklottube, Professor Steven Sacks, and Dungy Writing Studio Director and Director of Fellowships and Scholarships Laura Farmer on the Gilman Scholarship application.
Some of my biggest takeaways from this program are the rights surrounding migrant workers and the struggles they face every day.
“I was thrilled when Annabella won the Gilman Scholarship, particularly because his first attempt was unsuccessful,” Farmer said. “Annabella is a great example of the importance of tenacity and revision when it comes to pursuing scholarships and fellowships. The second time around he found a program that fit his professional and personal ambitions even better, and now he’s off on a great adventure.”
The Gilman Scholarship provides up to $8,000 for study abroad costs, based on the applicant’s financial need. Students can apply for the scholarship to any program, any country, and for any length of time; block classes abroad also count. The next deadline is March 9, and Farmer said she’s happy to answer questions for any interested students.
As for Poulos, he’s filling his days abroad with new experiences and opportunities while he’s abroad and is thankful for friends back on campus keeping him informed about what’s happening on the Hilltop. Now, he’s got his eyes set on the future and all the possibilities that lie ahead.
“I have become more confident in my skills and knowledge throughout this program and believe that will help me to become a highly qualified candidate when looking for future opportunities,” Poulos said.
In 2018, when Lauren Newman attended SIT Jordan: Geopolitics, International Relations and the Future of the Middle East, she had already spent time in the Middle East and Morocco studying Arabic. Those experiences sparked an interest in working for the Foreign Service. In 2022, Lauren was named a Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Fellow, putting her one step closer to making that idea a reality.
The prestigious Rangel Fellowship program is funded by the U.S. Department of State with the aim of enhancing the excellence and diversity of the Foreign Service. Lauren is one of two SIT alumni in the new Rangel Fellowship cohort of 45.
Lauren is from St. Martin, Mississippi, and is a 2019 graduate of the University of Mississippi. Through the fellowship she will attend Georgetown University to pursue a master of science in foreign service. She hopes to explore the relationship between climate change and democratization.
How did your background influence your desire to go into the Foreign Service?
I grew up low-income in rural Mississippi, and I experienced the feeling of having people make decisions on my behalf that felt unfair. In particular, the Medicaid coverage gap affected my family and I lived uninsured from October of my senior year of high school until my first time being employed full-time. Anger over that situation and feeling unheard led me to be more interested in politics, and from there I became involved in voting rights, co-founding a nonprofit called MS Votes.
From there, my interest and experience in promoting voting rights led to an increased interest in democratization abroad. People everywhere feel under-represented by their governments. I ended up working with the Democracy Program at Carter Center and going on an election observation mission in Zimbabwe. I loved feeling like I was serving a higher goal while I was on that mission, and I knew then that I wanted to pursue a career of international service.
I loved forming relationships across barriers when I went abroad, and I wanted to keep pursuing opportunities that let me continue to do so.
Additionally, I should note that I’ve always enjoyed learning about the world around me, but my high school world religions class really sparked my interest in cultures and belief systems throughout the world. I had a great teacher who taught us that across different belief systems, you can usually find trends that unite everyone. That experience made me choose to study international studies and Arabic in college to learn more about a different culture and belief system in hopes of finding out more about what bonds us all together. I loved forming relationships across barriers when I went abroad, and I wanted to keep pursuing opportunities that let me continue to do so.
How did you decide to pursue the Rangel fellowship and a career in international affairs?
For one thing, I knew I loved travel and SIT was a big part of that. I wanted to pursue foreign service in part because it’s very well-supported and does genuinely meaningful work. A lot of Foreign Service officers go to graduate school but I couldn’t really afford it and I was trying to figure out how to do it.
Beyond Rangel, I knew I wanted to pursue international affairs in large part because of my experiences abroad. No matter where I went or what program I went with, I always served as a type of citizen-diplomat, where I explained my culture while simultaneously learning about the culture of others. I found this immensely rewarding, and I feel like it’s fundamental for creating cooperation between citizens and governments.
What interests you in terms of your career path?
I’m really interested – and my interest developed further when I was in Jordan – in the role of conflict and political demonstrations related to climate change. I want to focus my career on how these things are all connected. Jordan, for instance, is water-poor and it’s only going to get more so as climate change gets worse. People demand services and if governments aren’t responsive people are going to want more transparent government.
What I’m also interested in, particularly in the Middle East, is, as oil reserves get lower and lives get harder how that will affect more authoritarian countries. I’m interested in being a political officer in the Foreign Service. Political officers track what legislative bodies in a country are doing.
I got to take a trip to Dubai through the SIT program. That was the first time we were told we had to be really careful with questions and conduct ourselves a certain way. I could feel that difference and feel some of what having an authoritarian government feels like.
What did you find compelling about SIT?
SIT really emphasized site visits – there were lots of trips. I was also able to undertake independent research. This let me go way deeper into learning about Jordan and the Middle East than I was able to before, in classes that just focused on language. I really appreciated doing a research project.
Independent research … let me go way deeper into learning about Jordan and the Middle East than I was able to before.
It was also great that with the SIT program, if you have a Pell grant they match it. That made study abroad much more accessible for me as someone who grew up low-income.
What did you focus on with your research?
A lot of my research was focusing on what the religious institutions were doing with refugees. I met people who worked with Red Crescent and with Christian and other Palestinian organizations as well. It was very eye-opening. A lot of times those organizations are considered preferable to government organizations by refugees.
Registering as a refugee is a very touchy subject. You can claim that you’re a refugee and qualify for government assistance. But a lot of Palestinians didn’t want to claim they were refugees because they didn’t want permanent residence status somewhere outside of Palestine, hoping to one day return.
In my research, I was looking at how the perceived legitimacy of institutions affects aid work.
With Syrian refugees, it was a little different. If someone registered with the United Nations as a Syrian refugee they had to go to the refugee camps, and people didn’t want that because it was so hard to leave the camps once you were in them.
For a lot of people, religious organizations have a sense of legitimacy that goverments may not. As a result, they’ll let those organizations know more details about where they’re from. In my research, I was looking at how the perceived legitimacy of institutions affects aid work.
What was it like for you to live and study in the Middle East?
I loved living and studying in the Middle East. Right away, I learned how much Middle Eastern culture emphasizes hospitality, which is actually very similar to the culture of the southern U.S. Both people love drinking sweet tea and having guests over!
SIT did a great job combining language courses and subject matter courses in a way that made me feel like I was getting a very well-rounded experience.
Jordanians are also very politically aware, which led to lots of very interesting conversations everywhere, from a taxi to a hookah lounge. I learned a lot about other perspectives as well as about the things that bind people together, and I enjoyed my role as a citizen-diplomat.
Would you recommend SIT’s programs to other students?
Absolutely! SIT did a great job combining language courses and subject matter courses in a way that made me feel like I was getting a very well-rounded experience. The trip we took in the middle of the semester to pursue different perspectives was also extremely rewarding, and SIT works really hard to make sure diverse viewpoints are always included. I felt very supported and learned so much, and I’m confident other students would have the same experience.
SIT Professor Dr. Raed al Tabini has co-written a new book that addresses natural resource management from the perspectives of both science and centuries-old local knowledge.
Rangeland Management Between Science, Local Knowledge, and Application was published last month by the Royal Botanic Garden in Jordan. Dr. al Tabini presented a copy of the book to Princess Basma Bint Ali, who is a founder of the Royal Botanic Garden.
This book presents a scientific model for arid land development and sustainability that is based on three research paths: the science used in rangeland management; the local knowledge of pastoral communities; and the most important methods used to preserve and sustain resources.
“It is important to document the local knowledge that is disappearing and is not written somewhere,” says Dr. al Tabini, who has 30 years experience in the field. “Local knowledge was instrumental in sustaining the natural resources that we now enjoy, and it is also important to provide a new approach for scientists to recognize that what they are doing may have been done locally for centuries.”
The book, which is published in Arabic with a 12-page English abstract, contains information relevant for students and researchers from various disciplines. It is considered among the first, if not the first, book in the Middle East and North Africa to incorporates both scientific and local knowledge to address natural resource management.
Local knowledge has almost become extinct and is little used in recent times due to a variety of conditions and social changes, says Dr. al Tabini. “Yet, it has been the driving force for sustaining natural resources and preserving nature.” The book includes, for example, herbal and traditional medicine practices used by nomadic peoples. It also addresses local communities’ response to climate change.
It is Dr. al Tabini’s second book. His first, published by Lambert Academic Publishing, focuses on the effects of sheep grazing on Jordanian rangeland.
Three students completing their master’s degree programs at SIT Graduate Institute will present their final capstone projects Dec. 14-15, 2021. Times listed below are EST. Members of the public are invited to attend these virtual presentations. Please email [email protected] to RSVP and receive a link.
Tuesday, December 14, 10-11:30 AM
Stephen Okoth – MA in Sustainable Development: Motivators and Barriers in Grant Seeking
Tuesday, December 14, 12-1:30 PM
Nadeen Black – MA in International Education: Columbia Intercultural Study Abroad
Wednesday, December 15, 10-11:30 AM
Jessica Vowell – MA in International Education: Using Social-Emotional Learning to Support Academic Achievement in the Wake of COVID-19: A case study in Boone County schools
By Ashraf Alqudah, PhD
The SIT Study Abroad program Jordan: Psychology, Well-being and Mental Health offers students an unprecedented opportunity to learn from Jordan’s experience mitigating the pandemic’s mental and psychological impact on refugees.
Unlike many countries with large refugee populations, Jordan moved quickly and efficiently to put in place measures to address the psychological challenges brought about by COVID-19, which are exacerbated among a refugee population already feeling displaced and vulnerable.
(Photo used with permission.)
COVID-19’s global toll on refugee mental health
As the pandemic unfolds across the globe, about 80 million refugees worldwide are experiencing rising levels of loneliness, depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder due to mobility restrictions, a lack of social and health support systems, and the stereotyping of this vulnerable group.
Most refugees do not yet have access to vaccines. In some countries, refugees have high rates of COVID-19 positivity despite low testing rates; in others, refugees have been blamed for spreading the virus. Since many refugees don’t have access to health insurance, they normally rely on NGOs for care, but many NGOs are experiencing financial difficulties, meaning less health care services for refugees.
This challenging global environment puts refugees at higher risk for COVID-19 and complicates their mental, psychological, and social well-being. The fact that refugee communities already experience increased psychological vulnerability may further exacerbate their susceptibility to more acute mental health difficulties. A recent survey found that refugees’ mental health has been significantly impacted during the pandemic, particularly for those with insecure housing and residence status, older refugees, and women, who have all reported higher levels of discrimination and stress.
When governments take measures such as closing schools and certain labor markets, it exacerbates already stressful daily living conditions and increases refugees’ need for psychological and mental health services.
Among the unintended consequences for refugees caused by changing public health priorities are: magnifying isolation, stigma, social inequities, unemployment, documentation problems, child and spousal abuse, relationship distress, and decreased access to care.
Job loss can translate into acute hunger and malnutrition, leading to weakened immune systems, a heightened risk of COVID-19 infection, and other serious illness.
Already prone to feelings of loss and isolation because of their displacement, social distancing, quarantines, and lockdowns worsen refugees’ psychological trauma and jeopardize their mental health and well-being.
How Jordan is responding to the challenge
Home to millions of refugees, Jordan has developed a rapid and efficient response to these challenges that includes professional psychological and psychiatric services and semi-professional (psycho-social support) programs. This response has helped to bring COVID-19 positivity and recovery rates among refugees in line with those of the general population.
In collaboration with the office of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Jordan, Jordan has established testing and vaccination centers in refugee camps; upgraded facilities to meet refugees’ needs during quarantine and lockdown; provided supplies and procedures to protect workers and refugees’ health and safety; designed and carried out COVID-19 awareness programs for refugees; and implemented remote services, protection hotlines, websites, and e-learning for students.
Tele-psychotherapy and psycho-education, online stress management and COVID-19 stress related management trainings (including how to manage stress in quarantine and lockdowns) have been provided to refugee parents and children. Psychotropic medications were made available, and psychologists receive support through a phone hotline staffed by a psychiatrist and a nurse daily.
In this environment, students on SIT’s Jordan: Psychology, Well-being and Mental Health will have a unique opportunity to learn to design and implement mental health and psychological well-being programs and responses for refugees in pandemic contexts. The program is enrolling now for spring 2022.
Ashraf Alqudah holds a PhD in clinical and medical psychology from the University of Florida, and an MA in from the University of Jordan. Click here to find out more about this program or to connect with an SIT admissions counselor.
For more information on the psychology and mental health of refugees, see these references:
Benjamen, J.; Girard, V.; Jamani, S.; Magwood, O.; Holland, T.; Sharfuddin, N.; Pottie, K. (2021) Access to Refugee and Migrant Mental Health Care Services during the First Six Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Canadian Refugee Clinician Survey. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18, 5266. https://doi.org/10.3390/ ijerph18105266.
Registration now open for nearly 40 SIT summer programs
If you haven’t yet begun planning for next summer, this is a great time to start.
Registration opens Wednesday, Sept. 15, for 38 SIT summer 2022 study abroad opportunities. Included are new programs that encompass art and social change in Eastern Europe; hip-hop music and decoloniality in Senegal; climate change in Jordan; peace-building and human rights in the Balkans; human trafficking in the Netherlands; food security in Italy; epidemiology in Argentina; and urban design and social justice in Spain.
“SIT has historically expanded the frontiers of international education, creating global opportunities of learning and cultural immersion for thousands of students a year across all continents,” notes SIT Dean of Faculty Dr. Said Graiouid. “The summer 2022 portfolio maintains that tradition with programs that focus on social, political, economic and scientific arenas and in diverse historical periods and geographical settings.”
Students are challenged to embrace a human-centered, comparative approach …”
SIT’s immersive programs next summer will take place in sub-Saharan Africa, the Asia Pacific region, Europe, and the Middle East/North Africa.
SIT will also once again offer virtual internships that allow undergraduates to build invaluable professional and academic experience on a range of subjects. These include two Jordan internships, in counseling and humanitarian action, and in community empowerment and climate change; women’s rights in Cameroon; education and social change in Chile; sustainability in India; public health in Kenya; human rights in Serbia; diplomacy and international relations in South Africa; and development and gender in Vietnam.
Regardless of which program they choose, says Graiouid, “students are challenged to embrace a human-centered, comparative approach in which they engage with resources and the competencies needed for the development of the skills of critical literacy, intercultural communication, and intellectual polity.”
Alix Swann, an international studies major at Spelman College, did a virtual internship on the Chile program in fall 2020 in which she worked with a women’s collective that fights street sexual harassment. Alix’s task was to teach about U.S. laws and policies on sexual harassment in the workplace and digital sexual harassment.
“Before this internship, my viewpoint was solely from a U.S. perspective, and I now no longer try to relate everything to the U.S.,” she says.
Yardena Meyerhoff, a physics and astronomy major at Whitman College, also did the Chile program, interning with the Colegio de Profesoras y Profesores de Chile to conduct a comparative analysis of Chile’s standardized testing system and the effect of standardized testing on student learning and development.
“My meetings with my internship advisor were very organic and natural and would often go in fascinating and sometimes unexpected directions. Our conversations made me think about my own experiences with education growing up in Minnesota, and how education systems around the world suffer from similar inequalities,” Yardena recalls.
SIT’s virtual language programs have also been popular during the pandemic. Language options for summer 2022 include all levels of Arabic (from Jordan); Swahili (Kenya); Hindi (India); Nepali and Tibetan (Nepal).
New SIT programs for summer 2022 are:
Argentina: Epidemiology and Healthcare Management—Through SIT’s close partnership with ISALUD, the nation’s top health university and think tank, examine urban epidemiology, health inequalities, and the challenges of managing health services and policies to expand access to healthcare.
Czech Republic: Studio Arts—Explore photography, creative writing, or contemporary dance through an intensive arts workshop while examining debates around art, politics, and society.
Italy: Food Security and Nutrition—Delve into sustainable agriculture on a Tuscan estate and explore how international experts are confronting challenges of food security, nutrition, and health.
Jordan: Community Empowerment and Climate Change Internship—Gain professional experience with a UN or government agency or NGO working with youth and vulnerable groups on community empowerment and environmental sustainability.
Netherlands: Human Trafficking, Sex Trade, and Modern Slavery in Europe—Examine diverse areas of human trafficking and the sex trade, including the relationship between sex workers and broader societies.
Senegal: Hip-Hop, Resilience, and Black Struggles—Examine how young Africans use hip-hop to question traditional representations of Africa, imagine the continent’s future, and raise consciousness of globalization and (in)equality.
Serbia: Transitional Justice, Human Rights, and Memory Activism Internship—Look at justice, human rights, and memory in post-conflict societies and contribute to the work of an important organization with a meaningful internship.
Spain: Sustainable Urban Development and Social Justice—Explore the approaches Spanish cities are taking to pursue sustainable urban development within a social justice framework.
Switzerland: Global Health and Development Policy—Compare public health systems within the framework of international and sustainable development, humanitarian action, human rights, and social justice.
For more information about these and all SIT Study Abroad programs, visit www.studyabroad.sit.edu.
Jacqueline Bengtson is a senior at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, majoring in anthropology and religious studies. She participated in SIT Study Abroad’s intensive Arabic language summer program in Jordan 2019 and lived with a local family in Amman for two months. In 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic prohibiting travel, Bengtson returned to SIT for advanced language instruction but this time online with the virtual Arabic language program. She was one of 38 students enrolled in online language classes requiring 15 hours of academic work a week (including a three-hour synchronous class, homework, and other asynchronous assignments) over nine weeks. It wasn’t her first virtual SIT experience ; the summer before she participated in the Netherlands: Virtual Internship in Sexuality, Gender & Non-Government Organizations. We recently caught up with Jacqueline to find out what it was like to study Modern Standard Arabic remotely, how class time was structured and whether virtual learning kept her connected to the culture.
Why did you decide to study Arabic?
When I came to Rollins, I felt like I didn’t know much about the Middle East. As an anthropology major, I thought the best way to understand people, their culture, and religion is through language. After my first Arabic class I fell in love.
How did online learning compare to your in-country language program with SIT?
It’s difficult to compare because in Jordan I was living with a homestay family, and I was going to class every day and practicing Arabic every second of every day. It wasn’t just a structured three-hour period. But the online program was fun because we spent those three hours speaking in Arabic as much as we could in that time.
Why did you take the virtual Arabic program with SIT in fall 2020?
Unfortunately, Arabic at Rollins is a very small program and with COVID there were a lot of budget cuts, and the Arabic program was cut. I didn’t want to go a semester without studying Arabic, so I studied virtually with SIT in the fall of 2020. I studied with Riham Al-Naimat, who was a language instructor I knew in Jordan. I was supposed to be back studying in Jordan in the spring but alas with COVID I could not.
Tell me about the virtual class. How many hours a week were you online? How many others were studying Arabic with you?
We met once a week online on Sundays for three hours over nine weeks and had about seven to ten hours of homework a week. The semester Arabic program had five students. I was placed in the advanced class with another student. There was also a low-intermediate class for one student and a high-intermediate class for another student and then a beginner class for a fifth student. Riham was very generous with her time and instruction.
How was your class structured?
We’d spend the first 30 minutes speaking only in Arabic and talking about our week and asking each other questions. Then we’d go over our homework, which may have been a translation or writing up our own report on something. Then we’d have a grammar lesson for about an hour or review any grammar we didn’t understand. We’d have a 15-minute break during the three hours, and we’d finish up with some kind of vocabulary or a grammar game. Our teacher always kept it fun and lively.
Was class time your only live interaction in Arabic during the week?
We met for three hours over Webex and during the week we’d have homework and assignments. If the other advanced student and I were confused about something we’d text each other but Riham was also available to go over questions or for private tutoring, which I utilized a lot. Even though it was all online it felt very personal. I keep in touch with my homestay family and practiced speaking with them too which was fun. It brought Jordan to me.
What did the class focus on most: conversation, reading, writing, or grammar?
The emphasis is really on all of it. It’s a lot harder to practice speaking and conversing because it’s virtual. It’s not something I was practicing everyday like I was in Jordan but within class we tried to make it very comprehensive, speaking-heavy but then grammar was also a very big part. We were at a level where we could dive into translation and writing essays, which is something that at an advanced level I hadn’t done in previous classes. It introduced new ways of learning a language.
Did you have a favorite activity or assignment?
I really enjoyed writing essays in Arabic. You have to think in Arabic. It filtered everything that I had been learning for the past three years into a written piece. I was able to convey what I wanted to convey in another language and when we went over it in class I did pretty well. Writing a mini paper in Arabic was very fulfilling.
Did anything surprise you about learning virtually?
Of course, I wanted to be learning in person. But I was honestly so grateful that I was able to participate in SIT’s virtual Arabic program. It was very comforting to be able to learn online. I felt like having this opportunity was a blessing. Like I said before, it gave me the opportunity to bring Jordan to me. When we were in those virtual classes with Riham it made me feel like I was back in the culture at least for a little bit.
Would you recommend the virtual program to a beginner?
You have to start somewhere. It doesn’t matter if you’re beginning, and you don’t know any words at all. If you put in as much effort as the instructors put into teaching and utilize their help as well, you learn a lot faster than you realize. Even though I’m advanced in Arabic, my favorite part of learning languages is starting to learn a language. It’s so exciting and new. People are so much more open to sharing their culture with you when you’re learning their language.
Check out SIT’s virtual language programs for Fall 2021 and Spring 2022:
Fall 2021
Apply by August 1, 2021
- Chile: Virtual Spanish Language (Intermediate & Advanced)
- India: Virtual Hindi Language (Beginning & Intermediate)
- Indonesia: Virtual Bahasa Indonesia Language (Beginning & Intermediate)
- Jordan: Virtual Arabic Language (All Levels)
- Nepal: Virtual Nepali Language (Beginner & Intermediate)
- Nepal: Virtual Tibetan Language (All Levels)
- Peru: Virtual Quechua Language (Beginner)
- Senegal: Virtual French Language (Intermediate & Advanced)
- Vietnam: Virtual Vietnamese Language (Beginning & Intermediate)
Spring 2022
- India: Virtual Hindi Language (All Levels)
- Jordan: Virtual Arabic Language (All Levels)
- Kenya: Virtual Swahili Language (All Levels)
- Nepal: Virtual Nepali Language (All Levels)
- Nepal: Virtual Tibetan Language (All Levels)
SPRING FORWARD
What SIT students brought with them from their
spring 2020 study abroad experience
We went to the highest peak of the city. The the air was cold, and it was barely light until the sun slowly rose behind the hills illuminating a breathtaking landscape of mountains, valleys, and the sparkling blue lake.
Steven Escobar-Mendez
Sophomore, Lehigh University Class of 22
SIT IHP Human Rights: Movements, Power and Resistance (Nepal, Jordan and Chile)
The best thing about the IHP program was traveling to different parts of the world in a semester with such an amazing group. I have never been to the other side of the world, so it was an incredible opportunity made possible through aid from my university, the program, and the Gilman International Scholarship.
There were so many memorable moments, but a particularly vivid one was watching the sun rise in Pokhara, Nepal. We went to the highest peak of the city. The the air was cold, and it was barely light until the sun slowly rose behind the hills illuminating a breathtaking landscape of mountains, valleys, and the sparkling blue lake.
The program was sadly cut short due to Covid-19 when were in Amman, Jordan. However, lessons on multiple aspects of human rights from UN officials and NGOs will have a lasting impact on me.
Thanks to SIT, I will continue studying political science and global studies with firsthand experience.
Tamara is preparing for her master’s degree in Arabic for non-native speakers at the University of Jordan. She obtained her BA in English language and linguistics from Jordan University of Science and Technology in 2016. Tamara worked as an Arabic language and culture instructor at the MALIC center and Links center in 2017, and as a teaching assistant with the Columbia University program in Amman in 2018. More recently, she has worked at the Al Mashriq center as an Arabic instructor for beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels from 2018 to 2019. She joined SIT in September 2019, and has been teaching modern and colloquial Arabic for advanced classes.
Meet our Global and Low-Residency program chairs to find the MA that’s right for you
This new SIT webinar series presents a great opportunity to learn about SIT’s Global and Low-Residency master’s degree programs.
Global Programs Webinar: Wednesday, January 8 – 9 a.m. (Eastern U.S.) with Dr. Joe Lanning (MA in Development Practice) and Dr. Richard Walz (MA in Climate Change & Global Sustainability)
Low-Residency Programs Webinar: Friday, January 17 – 12 p.m. (Eastern U.S.) with Dr. Bruce Dayton (MA in Peace and Justice Leadership) and Dr. Udi Butler (MA in Sustainable Development)
Global Programs Webinar: Tuesday, January 21 – 12 p.m. (Eastern U.S.) with Dr. Bruce Dayton (MA in Diplomacy & International Relations) and Dr. Sora Friedman (MA in International Education)
Low-Residency Programs Webinar: Wednesday, January 22 – 4 p.m. (Eastern U.S. ) with Dr. Leslie Turpin (MA in TESOL) and Dr. Sora Friedman (MA in International Education)
Global Programs Webinar: Monday, January 27 – 9 a.m. (Eastern U.S.) with Dr. Steve Wandiga & Dr. Azim Khan (MA in Global Health, Administration & Management) and Dr. Bayan Abdulhaq (MA in Humanitarian Assistance & Crisis Management)
Ghada Khalil is a poet and academic researcher with a PhD in Arabic language and literature from the University of Jordan. She has taught Arabic at Tafila University in Jordan and Qatar University. Her main interests are conducting research in literature and literary criticism and writing poetry. She specializes in modern Arabic literature with a focus on female writers and has published her first book, “Woman in Her Own Mirrors: The Image of Women by Female Novelists.” She has two poetry collections: “As If I Were Another” and “Lovers Guide.” Ghada has participated and spoken in many local and international conferences and cultural festivals.
Ramya Prabhakar
From: Roswell, Georgia
SIT program: Spring 2018 Jordan: Geopolitics, International Relations, and the Future of the Middle East
Home Institution: Johns Hopkins 2019
Major: International Studies
What drew you to International Studies as a major?
I had done Model UN in high school and was interested in international affairs. When I got into Hopkins I wasn’t sure if that was what I wanted to do, so I switched majors … but eventually found my way back to international studies.
But I don’t see myself going the traditional path; I don’t want to be a Foreign Service officer or an officer at the UN. I love to write, and I want to be on the communications side of things. I want to help shape the message rather than policy. I did a couple internships in speech writing and I really fell in love with it. That’s what I’m doing now, and I’m also thinking about journalism and editing.
Coming from Hopkins — the world’s first research university — I was excited to be able to do international field research and put my research training to use.
Why did you choose SIT Jordan for your study abroad program?
I was drawn to Jordan because I was interested in the Middle East. I had started taking Arabic in my first semester, so by the time I went to Jordan I was intermediate to advanced, so this program made sense. I had taken some classes in international politics and this seemed like a good fit. I also was specifically drawn to SIT’s program because of the ISP component. Coming from Hopkins — the world’s first research university — I was excited to be able to do international field research and put my research training to use.
[My ISP] helped me build contacts that came in handy when I returned to Jordan the following year to do fieldwork for my thesis.
What was the focus of your research project?
I did an ISP focused on educational access for Syrian refugees in Amman. I interviewed policy influencers like UN officials and NGO workers to compare whether the problems that they saw with education access were the same as how the refugees saw the problems. This helped me build contacts that came in handy when I returned to Jordan the following year to do fieldwork for my thesis.
You’re in the enviable position of having a job right after out of college. This fall you’ll be going to the American University in Cairo (AUC), where you’ll be working in the Office of the President. Can you tell me more about that job?
The job is part of a fellowship program called the Presidential Associates Program. I found this program when I was in Jordan. At that point I had done a speech-writing internship in New York at the Bloomberg Foundation and was starting a big internship in DC with West Wing Writers, a contract speech-writing firm founded by former Clinton and Obama speechwriters.
At AUC, the Office of the President was looking for someone who could write — whether that was speeches, executive correspondence, or copy editing. I was worried when I didn’t hear back, but then in April they interviewed me and they ended up hiring me. The program also includes 120 hours of Arabic tutoring, so I’m hoping to build my proficiency in Modern Standard (Fusha) as well as Egyptian dialect. And of course, I am very much looking forward to exploring Cairo, Egypt, and the rest of the Middle East!
That’s a very impressive position. Congratulations! Do you know what your career goals are for, say, 10 years from now?
I don’t know. I’ll take it as it comes. I really want to keep speech writing, and if a job opens in the US, especially with the 2020 election, I’d want to come back to the States. I’m interested in possibly hopping on a campaign, or maybe trying for a job at the State Department. I eventually want to be a White House speech writer, but lots of stars have to align for that position—so we’ll see.
Dema received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in law from Jordan University. She has completed her required legal training and is expecting to take the Jordanian Bar exam shortly. She is qualified in many aspects of both civil and criminal law within Jordan and has completed over 35 training courses in legal issues. These courses dealt with civil and criminal law, and several pertained specifically to the rights of the child or the rights of women. Additionally, she is trained in international treaties and agreements pertaining to related human rights issues. Since 2004, she has volunteered at the National Center for Human Rights in Jordan. She is also a member of Talal Abu-Ghazala, a famous law firm in Jordan that trains in civil and criminal law. Her past experience includes two and a half years in a law firm as a legal trainer. She has been a homestay coordinator for SIT since 2008 and was an advisor for SIT students studying topics related to women, culture, and youth.
Yanik is the director of Passage International, which facilitates experiential education and global understanding by creating opportunities for students to live and learn abroad. He has guided several treks in Nepal and India and has worked with study abroad programs since 2002. Yanik participated in the No Education: No Freedom, No Opportunity seminar in Germany on whether education should be liberalized. He was involved in an Antenna Foundation project — a dramatized TV series that raised issues on women’s rights and attempted to break taboos. He has been working in radio since 2005, first with a 24-hour commercial radio station and now with Revolution Radio, an online radio station. He is also a part of the hip-hop/slam poetry group Word Warriors.
Amjad holds a master’s degree in educational sciences, focusing on methods of teaching Arabic to non-Arabic speakers, from the University of Jordan. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Arabic/English translation from the University of Yarmouk. Amjad taught Arabic at Dutchess Community College- Poughkeepsie, New York. He has taught at SIT since 2016. He has training in psychosocial support, and worked as a language facilitator and language partner with the Peace Corps and USAID.
Ghadeer began teaching as an instructor of Arabic language for intermediate high and advanced levels in 2011 at International House Amman. In 2016, she worked at Jordan Language Academy as an instructor of Arabic for specific purposes. In 2017, Ghadeer obtained a master’s degree in Arabic for speakers of other languages from the University of Jordan. She has been teaching Modern Standard Arabic for SIT since the winter of 2017.
Farah holds a bachelor’s degree in Arabic language and literature from the University of Jordan and has over three years’ experience teaching Arabic to non-Arabic speakers. She has taught Arabic (standard and colloquial) at all levels. Farah has trained at Qasid Institute in teaching Arabic language and culture and has worked at Jordanian Academy of Languages and Wafid Center.
Waleed holds PhD in applied linguistics (Arabic sociolinguistics) and an MA and BA in Arabic language from the University of Jordan. Waleed was a professor of applied linguistics at QU, Petra University, Jordan, and a professor of applied linguistics at CASA (Center of Arabic Study Abroad), Harvard University, Jordan. Waleed has over thirty publications, including articles in refereed papers and seven books on various aspects of applied Arabic linguistics, including teaching Arabic as a foreign language, teaching Arabic as a native language, linguistic globalization, Arabic computational linguistics, internet linguistics, discourse analysis, and forensic linguistics.
Riham obtained a master’s degree in Arabic language and literature from Al-Albayt University after completing her BA in Arabic language and literature at Jerash University. She worked as an Arabic instructor at the Jordanian Ministry of Education and as an Arabic instructor and language coordinator at international schools in Saudi Arabia. In 2009, Riham began volunteering as an SIT Jordan language instructor for intermediate high and advanced levels. In 2010, she joined SIT full time and has been teaching Modern Standard Arabic ever since. Riham also works as academic coordinator for the Arabic Intensive Language summer program.
Rania received her master’s degree in international business management from the University of Surrey in England in 2009 after completing her BA in business administration at the Applied Science University in Jordan. Throughout her career, she has accrued significant experience in human resources management while honing her language and cross-cultural intrapersonal skills to fit the needs of SIT’s diverse student population. Her past experience in sports management has also helped her in dealing with a wide variety of personalities. Rania is responsible for managing student affairs and helping students cope with the day-to-day challenges they face while studying abroad in Amman.