SIT alumna Kiya Henderson of Pomona College has earned the coveted 2022 Award for Academic Achievement Abroad for her independent research on maternal mortality, which she conducted while on SIT’s Kenya: Global Health and Human Rights program.
The award recognizes meaningful, rigorous academic projects that occur as part of education abroad programs. It includes a $500 cash prize.
Henderson’s research presentation was titled, “A Retrospective Analysis of Maternal Mortality in Kisumu, Kenya from March 2021 to March 2022: The Effects of Proximal and Distal Factors on Maternal Outcomes.” She said her senior thesis at Pomona will be another iteration of her study.
“[Kiya] distinguished herself through her critical analyses of the abstracted data during the one-year time study period,” said SIT Kenya Academic Director Dr. Steve Wandiga. “Overall, her excellence in academics and [as a] team leader among her peers was outstanding.”
Henderson, who is from New Orleans, is an Africana studies major completing pre-med coursework. She plans to work in maternal and fetal medicine and to open her own practice focusing on holistic health care for black and brown women. Currently, she serves as a study abroad peer mentor at Pomona College.
She chose the SIT program because it represented “the perfect marriage between my two main interests” and said the independent research component of the program was important to her.
During a March 16 virtual awards ceremony, Henderson said she chose to research maternal mortality because it is one of the major causes of death among women of reproductive age. “Specifically within the United States, black women are two to three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than their white counterparts.”
Asked about one of the most impactful moments on her program, she said,“For a long time, I knew that I wanted to work in medicine but I wasn’t sure specifically where I wanted to work, and as I learned more about maternal mortality within the U.S. that influenced my decision to work in maternal medicine. So being in [the women and children’s health section in Kisumu County Referral Hospital] for the very first time … I had this feeling that this is what I’m supposed to be doing; this is where I’m supposed to be,” she said.
Henderson will be recognized on March 24 during the 19th Annual Forum Conference in Seattle.
In summer 2022, Carnegie Mellon University neuroscience major Isabel Brum joined SIT Kenya: Public Health in the Tropics. She talks about her experience in this story, which was originally posted on CMU’s College of Science website. It is reprinted here with permission.
Find out more about SIT Kenya: Public Health in the Tropics
By Amy Pavlack Laird
A philosophy class changed Isabel Brum’s perception of public health.
“We read a paper about how we should see public health as something that deals with human rights instead of seeing it as an extension of the medical field because you’re dealing with people’s education, secure access to food, water, healthcare, all these things. So public health is really a human rights issue,” said the Carnegie Mellon University senior who took the course Health, Human Rights and International Development. “And that just changed something in me.”
Brum was inspired to explore more of the public health field. She spent the summer interning at a hospital in Kisumu, Kenya, learning about HIV care and the social determinants of health that impact people’s quality of life in western Kenya.
Public health is really a human rights issue.
“I wanted to do field work, not just sitting in class and learning the theory about a topic. I wanted to actually talk with people, interact with people,” said Brum, who is pursuing a major in cognitive neuroscience and an additional major in ethics, history and public policy.
She spent seven weeks in Kisumu, Kenya’s third largest city, as part of the School for International Training’s Public Health in the Tropics program. She was drawn to Kenya because of the program’s emphasis. Brum is from Puerto Rico.
I wanted to do field work, not just sitting in class and learning the theory about a topic. I wanted to actually talk with people, interact with people.
“A lot of issues that affect Kenya can also affect Puerto Rico. I was very interested in comparing how both places deal with public health,” she said.
Brum spent her mornings shadowing clinicians at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital, primarily working with patients with HIV, including pregnant women who are receiving treatment to prevent mother-to-child transmission. In the afternoons, she attended Swahili classes and worked on her research project analyzing data from the hospital’s central registries to see if the COVID-19 pandemic affected HIV care in Kenya.
“I definitely learned a lot about HIV and AIDS and the struggles different communities face,” Brum said, realizing that “to actually get rid of HIV, you would have to empower women and educate women, empower the economy, all of these things. So, it very much touched on the human rights side of public health.”
Meeting people from different parts of the world is helpful but actually going and being there with the community that you’re working with, I mean, it’s priceless to be able to do something like that.
Brum and the other students in her program explored Kenya and neighboring countries on weekends. One of the most memorable excursions was to the Maasai Mara National Reserve, an area of savannah wilderness in southwestern Kenya famous for its lions, cheetahs, elephants and zebras. Brum’s group also visited Uganda, where they spent the weekend in the city of Jinja. There they saw the source of the Nile and kayaked the legendary river.
Her experience in Kenya has solidified Brum’s plans to pursue a career in public health, although now she’s considering global public health.
“I think this experience has just helped me change my perspective,” Brum said. “Meeting people from different parts of the world is helpful but actually going and being there with the community that you’re working with, I mean, it’s priceless to be able to do something like that.”
Brum’s time in Kenya was funded by the Jennings Family Brave Companions Fund. Established by Carnegie Mellon trustee and alumnus Larry Jennings Jr. and his wife, Katherine, the fund annually provides students financial support to travel to developing countries during their summer breaks to study, travel, conduct research and/or participate in service work.
Although SIT program delivery was modified in 2021, SIT Study Abroad and SIT Graduate Institute continued to provide life-changing international experiences for graduate and undergraduate students throughout the year.
Not surprisingly, the challenges brought about by COVID-19 meant that many of the most popular programs in each division were either hybrid or virtual. Nevertheless, students like Tiffany Padilla, who studied Tibetan online, found “immense value in experiencing a study abroad of any kind.”
Read “Insights from a virtual study abroad”
Top 5 SIT Graduate programs in 2021
Based on enrollment, the most popular SIT Graduate Institute programs in 2021 were:
1. Part-time hybrid MA in Sustainable Development
In this two-year program, students learn to support thriving communities and build skills in community development and social change. They work with their professors and cohort online, with brief residencies in Vermont and field courses in Nepal and Mexico.
Read Randal McCoy’s capstone paper, “Black Lives Matter”
2. Part-time hybrid MA in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages)
SIT is a national leader in TESOL training so it’s no surprise that this two-year program continues to rank among SIT’s most popular. Grounded in plurilingual pedagogy and led by experts in the field, the program provides students the opportunity to specialize in one of four subject areas: teacher training, plurilingual pedagogy, teaching refugees and displaced persons, or teaching young learners.
Find out more about plurilingual pedagogy
3. Part-time hybrid MA in International Education
In this two-year hybrid MA, students learn to lead education programs in communities around the world. The program features brief summer residencies on SIT’s scenic Vermont campus and includes electives focused on leadership, peacebuilding, language education, international development, and intercultural service.
Program chair Dr. Sora Friedman talks about her new book
4. Global MA in Climate Change & Global Sustainability
In SIT’s one-year Global Master’s programs, students study in a different country each semester and in most cases complete their final capstone anywhere in the world. Among our first and most popular of these global formats is Climate Change & Global Sustainability. With one semester each in Iceland and Tanzania, students gain the knowledge, skills, and global experience to address climate change and enhance the sustainability of environments and responsible human livelihoods. Alumni from this program have gone on to careers in public policy and NGO fields.
Climate Change alumna Danielle Purvis: ‘The ways of the world must change’
5. Global MA in Diplomacy and International Relations
Students prepare for careers in international, regional, and global affairs or diplomacy to address some of the most critical issues facing the planet. This one-year program takes place in South Africa, Switzerland, and the United States for key points of comparison among U.S., European, and African perspectives as students learn how to function with the global political system.
Program chair Dr. Bruce Dayton: ‘We’re at a tipping point’
Top 5 SIT Study Abroad programs for 2021
Based on enrollment, the most popular SIT Study Abroad programs and countries in 2021 were:
1 & 2. Iceland
SIT Study Abroad’s two most popular programs in 2021 were both immersive experiences in Iceland. Students on our semester program, Climate Change and the Arctic, were drawn to the beauty of Iceland’s glaciers, volcanoes, coastlines and waterfalls. In that dramatic setting, they study climate models and carbon management with experts on the front lines of the fight against climate change.
SIT’s summer program in Iceland, Renewable Energy, Technology & Resource Economics, is similarly focused on climate and environment, attracting students interested in energy policy and renewable energy technologies.
3 & 5. South Africa
Summer and semester Virtual Internships in Diplomacy, Conflict Resolution, and International Relations ranked third and fifth respectively in 2021, preparing students for careers in human rights or global affairs. Both programs explore non-western perspectives on conflict resolution, human rights, international relations, and south-south diplomacy in cooperation with partners like the Africa Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD), Africa’s largest conflict resolution NGO.
4. Kenya
Another virtual internship in Africa ranked among our top 5. On our summer program Kenya: Virtual Internship in Public Health in the Tropics students have the opportunity to intern with a community or research organization, business, government agency, or NGO. This program is carried out in partnership with the Kenya Medical Research Institute, the Centers for Disease Control, and other organizations working on public health issues in Kisumu. (The semester version of this program was also popular, coming in sixth in our 2021 ranking.)
#1 Muse: Ecuador
Last but not least, we would be remiss if we failed to include Ecuador in this list as the country that inspires some of the most prolific writing among our students and alumni.
I was captivated by the Ecuador’s immense, thriving biodiversity.
Zane Libke
This program has caused me to reflect a lot on what exactly the goal of ‘development’ is, on what changes I actually want to make in the world, and how one should go about making change.
Meg Edwards
Exploring the cloud forest for five days and our trip to the Amazon was like, ‘Someone pinch me, I think I’m dreaming’.
Halle Catalina Brown
Each year, the U.S. Departments of Education and State designate a week to spotlight the importance of international education. “International education enhances cultural and linguistic diversity and helps to develop cross-cultural communication skills, foreign language competencies, and enhanced self-awareness and understanding of diverse perspectives,” this year’s statement reads.
At SIT, we welcome this opportunity to focus on the importance of the work we do year-round. And there is no better way to highlight this work than through the voices of our students and alumni.
Halle Catalina Brown studied abroad on SIT Ecuador: Comparative Ecology and Conservation in 2019. That experience was so foundational that she continues to blog about it and the Ecuador connections she made during her time there.
Ecuador study abroad excursion feels like an ‘unimaginable, wild dream’
My heart sank as I observed the destruction of some of the most wild and beautiful nature I’ve ever seen and the deep suffering of the people.
“I fell in love with the Amazon,” Halle writes in this blog post. “… Oftentimes, I would remind myself that the nature I was exploring has only been seen by a countable quantity of eyes. Possibly countable only on my fingers and toes. Which is the reason I find it so important to also provide education on the ways we are destroying this wildness.”
She goes on to describe in detail the shocking corporate and government practices that are destroying natural resources and local communities. “My heart sank as I observed the destruction of some of the most wild and beautiful nature I’ve ever seen and the deep suffering of the people. And we are all to blame.”
It’s no doubt that the pandemic has challenged our students’ ability to physically cross borders and experience other cultures in person, but that hasn’t deterred many students who are intent on enhancing their international education and expanding their world view.
Chile virtual internship offers new ‘vantage point’ on social change
I learned a lot about Chilean culture and was able to experience it from a close perspective …
In fall 2020, Spelman College international studies major Alix Swann joined SIT for Chile: Virtual Internship in Education & Social Change Organizations. “At first, I was apprehensive about the online experience, but it ended up being incredibly impactful,” Alix told us. “I learned a lot about Chilean culture and was able to experience it from a close perspective, as well as work with an organization who does a lot of work for women’s rights on the ground.”
University of Arkansas Honors College Fellow Meghana Chithirala, a pre-med junior, had planned to spend the summer polishing her language skills in France. When the pandemic interrupted those plans, Meghana joined SIT Kenya: Virtual Internship in Public Health in the Tropics.
SIT virtual internship with Kenyan hospital offers insights on public health
This internship was honestly one of the greatest opportunities I had been given.
Meghana’s rotations—in an HIV clinic and pediatrics, critical care, and neonatal units at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital in Kisumu—were an eye-opening introduction to public health, as well as the benefits of online internships. “I was exposed to a multitude of issues in the Kenyan health care system and how third-world countries are trying to utilize their limited resources,” Meghana wrote.
“This internship was honestly one of the greatest opportunities I had been given,” she concluded.
Gretta Marston-Lari was born in Peru and came to the United States with her parents as a young teen. A Latin American studies and theater major at Macalester College, Gretta returned to Peru with SIT on a program focused on indigenous communities and globalization.
Semester in Peru inspires musical
I felt that I was finally learning what I had been longing to learn in all of my college courses.
“I felt that I was finally learning what I had been longing to learn in all of my college courses. … The study abroad experience fed my soul in a way that was really needed and that I had been waiting for since I left Peru at age 14.”
As her final project, Gretta wrote a musical, Como la Tierra (“Like the Earth”) that tells the story of an indigenous community’s struggle to block a copper mine. “We had been learning a lot about how indigenous bodies of knowledge exist in an oral tradition. To me, theater in a large way is an exchange of knowledge, and it’s oral. I thought this was the best way I could connect to what was happening and to contribute to further their struggle,” she told us.
During an exceptionally challenging year, Danielle Purvis earned her MA from SIT in Climate Change & Global Sustainability, a one-year global program that includes a semester each in Iceland and Zanzibar.
‘The ways of this world must change‘
… we get to be on the front lines of building new bridges and creating a new way of life.
“On top of the typical challenges of a graduate degree, the Class of 2021 completed their degrees entirely or almost entirely during a global pandemic. My cohort, for instance, experienced a lock down, then an evacuation, and then a lock down and an evacuation,” Danielle told her graduating class during a moving speech at her commencement in August.
“I am completing this experience with a blend of gratitude for the resources available to me and a commitment to see these bountiful resources distributed as equitably as possible. I am completing this experience with a global lens of how we are inextricably connected to each other and to our natural environment. And I know, more than ever before, that the ways of this world are unsustainable and must change, and that we get to be on the front lines of building new bridges and creating a new way of life,” she said.
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.
Anne Wanjiru works as SIT’s Swahili instructor and course coordinator. Anne instructs, advises both students and Kiswahili teachers on how to approach Kiswahili language acquisition, and works to ensure that students’ overall language needs are being met. Anne received her secondary education in central Kenya. She speaks and writes English, Kiswahili, and other local languages. She also has a diploma in teaching methodology and a diploma from the local Kiswahili institutions for Teaching Kiswahili to Speakers of Other Languages. She started teaching standard spoken Kiswahili as a foreign language to different foreigners who come to work in Nairobi. In addition to her work with SIT Study Abroad, she is a part-time freelance tutor for graduate students. Anne has worked with SIT for over 10 years.
This story was originally published on the University of Arkansas Honors College blog. It has been republished here with permission.
University of Arkansas Honors College Fellow Meghana Chithirala, a pre-med junior double majoring in chemistry/biochemistry and economics, planned to spend the summer polishing her French skills in Perpignan, France—but the COVID-19 pandemic forced a change in plans. She was one of the first honors students to sign up for a virtual international internship. Rotations through the HIV Clinic and pediatrics, critical care, and neonatal units at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital in Kisamu, Kenya, proved to be an eye-opening introduction to public health—and the benefits of online internships.
By Meghana Chithirala
For the past year or so, I had been preparing to study abroad in France this summer. I often imagined myself exploring the beaches of Perpignan, eating all the pasta my stomach could handle, and being fully immersed in the language and culture. Unfortunately, the global spread of the coronavirus quickly dissolved those plans, and I was applying to the SIT Kenya: Virtual Internship in Public Health in the Tropics program thanks to an email Chelsea Hodge sent out to honors students before I knew it. While I was ready for a summer revolving around my French minor, I was excited to make the most out of my summer by focusing on my goal to enter the medical field one day.
I had many questions going into the program, especially about how much I would be able to learn through a screen. Couldn’t possibly be that much, right? However, I was quickly proven wrong. I was exposed to a multitude of issues in the Kenyan health care system and how third-world countries are trying to utilize their limited resources efficiently in the first week alone.
Over the course of the internship, I rotated between the pediatrics unit, critical care unit, HIV clinic, and neonatal unit at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital in Kisumu, Kenya. I have learned about the legal concerns and social issues when taking care of children in Kenya, how to collect a patient history and perform a physical examination for both children and adults, and gained insight on the diagnosis of prevalent illnesses in the tropics through symptoms and signs. Highlights include being able to examine case studies of a patient with sickle cell disease to obtain a real-life example of appropriately-filled-out hospital forms and nursing care plans, and a patient with HIV who was experiencing treatment failure for unknown reasons. These case studies made me feel like I was in the hospital in person, working in the different departments, instead of participating in the internship virtually.
Even though I was thousands of miles away, the expectations placed on me were not lowered by any means. I was often quizzed on previous topics, given readings to discuss, and assigned topics to research. The amount of work this internship required was definitely not expected, which was initially stressful as I was not sure I would be able to juggle it with my other responsibilities. However, an honest interest in what I had been learning kept me motivated to stay on top of everything, even if that meant I had to wake up at 6:00 am every day due to the time difference.
Sure, there are challenges associated with virtual learning, such as technical glitches, but the Internet provided many advantages to amplify my overall experience. I was able to swiftly research topics as they were being talked about or record important sessions to re-watch them at a later time if necessary. I was not able to have an immersive cultural experience like I would have if I was physically in Kenya, but I was able to pick up on some Swahili and learn about the environment through the staff’s perspective and videos. This internship was honestly one of the greatest opportunities I had been given, and a part of me is kind of glad my France study abroad program was postponed until next summer.
For Steve Wandiga, the coronavirus pandemic presents some fascinating opportunities.
As academic director of the SIT Study Abroad programs Kenya: Global Health and Human Rights and Public Health in the Tropics Internship, and co-chair of SIT Graduate Institute’s new MA in Global Health, Dr. Wandiga sees possibility where others might not.
Students and researchers are going to learn a lot about working remotely, international cooperation, and COVID’s impact on public health in Kenya and Africa, he predicts.
“I’m optimistic,” he says with a reassuring smile during a Zoom interview from Kisumu, Kenya, where he also serves as a senior research officer at Kenya Medical Research Center (KEMRI).
Although life in Kenya has been disrupted—schools and universities closed in mid-March—Dr. Wandiga is excited about SIT’s upcoming five-week virtual summer internship program, which is online this year for the first time as a result of the global crisis.
When asked about what that will look like, Dr. Wandiga says it will be “intense.” The five-credit program includes: an internship seminar; lectures; weekly meetings with an internship advisor; weekly journaling; plenty of practical experience in public health; and a final presentation. The virtual internship will also be offered in the fall semester as a 12-week, 4-credit program.
Dr. Wandiga says SIT students will gain valuable experience engaging with Kenyan public health officials and practitioners while working with actual field data from a local teaching hospital or lab. At the end of the internship, he says, students will give presentations about their experiences.
It’s a meaningful opportunity even though students won’t be able to take in the sights and sounds of Nairobi or Mombasa or visit nearby Uganda or Rwanda.
In addition to lectures and the seminar from local specialists, students will learn about more than the current COVID-19 crisis and the effects of the virus on Kenya’s population of more than 47 million.
“A lot of attention is given to COVID, but there was life before COVID and life during COVID,” says Dr. Wandiga, who is an expert in tuberculosis and HIV.
One impact of the pandemic, he says, is that people have been staying away from hospitals when they need treatment for other infectious diseases due to fear they’ll contract the virus.
“TB services have gone down. HIV testing is down. Family planning is down,” he notes. “Attention is given to COVID at the expense of other public health issues.”
But he is also starting to see creative responses to deal with these concerns, like giving a patient HIV medication for two months when appropriate.
Dr. Wandiga says the program curriculum for SIT’s new Masters in Global Health has also been updated to include the COVID-19 crisis.
He adds: “The COVID-19 pandemic influences the delivery of SIT’s Global Health Master’s program simply because it is novel and no one has been in this kind of virulent environment before and running the program like COVID-19 did not happen would be a disservice to program students.”
Dr. Wandiga says this program is uniquely positioned because faculty are global health experts active in the field and share hands-on experience with students.
“We deliberately designed it this way so that theory and practice fused into one in the program,” he explains.
Projects, a practicum and a capstone are also distinguishing program features that bring together students and subject matter experts for conceptualization, implementation to analysis and writing.
The Master of Arts in Global Health Policy, Administration, and Management is open to students with public health degrees and other degrees with health-related backgrounds, as well as those with quantitative (statistics) and qualitative (social science or anthropology) degrees.
Dr. Wandiga, who holds a doctorate in medical research from Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, Germany, believes researchers and graduate students will be studying health outcomes of this period for years to come, not least because goals like eliminating polio will need to be revisited all over again.
The weather in Kenya hasn’t made things any easier in managing public health. There’s been a lot of rain, causing flooding that leads to waterborne diseases like cholera, and forcing people out of their homes during the pandemic is hindering observation of regulations such as social and physical distance thus further propagating the crisis.
While some statisticians predict that the coronavirus will peak in Kenya in September, Dr. Wandiga expects it could spike sooner, in July or August.
“Not all is lost,” says Dr. Wandiga, unexpectedly cheerful. “There are cross-country opportunities to learn from one another such as U.S. -Kenya: best practices, communication about the virus in Africa and North America, and a Madagascar drug treatment.” (“What, you don’t know about it?” he asks incredulously, and like the passionate educator he instructs me to look it up when we finish talking, which I dutifully do. It’s a drink dubbed “Covid Organics,” believed to be a treatment and cure for the virus.)
Comparison studies and exchange of information is a two-way street, Dr. Wandiga reminds me.
“All of this gives us an opportunity to come out of this better and stronger,” he adds.
Launching this fall: MAs in Global Health Policy, Administration & Management; International Education; Diplomacy & International Relations
BRATTLEBORO, Vermont – School for International Training has received accreditation for three innovative new global master’s degrees in Diplomacy & International Relations; International Education; and Global Health Policy, Administration & Management.
The Vermont-based SIT Graduate Institute received its accreditation from the New England Commission of Higher Education, the regional accreditation agency responsible for colleges and universities in New England. The one-year Global MAs are delivered entirely abroad, with coursework in SIT centers around the world capped by students’ final practica, which, for most programs, may be completed in the U.S. or abroad.
The new MAs launch in September, led by faculty in the U.S., South America, Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Africa, who will guide students through programs designed to develop leaders who can respond to some of the most critical global issues of our time, including global health crises, economic inequality, natural resource degradation, and political and ethnic conflict.
“These one-of-a-kind global degrees build on SIT’s nearly 90-year history of training the next generation of innovative, compassionate global leaders at a time when the world faces unprecedented challenges,” said SIT President Dr. Sophia Howlett. “Our dedicated faculty around the world have carefully designed these programs to help students learn to tackle urgent issues of the day in every corner of the globe and turn those skills into careers.”
The new degrees expand on SIT Graduate Institute’s stable of other accredited global MAs in Climate Change & Global Sustainability; Development Practice; and Humanitarian Assistance & Crisis Management, also based in cities around the world.
SIT also offers low-residency master’s degrees in Sustainable Development, Peace & Justice Leadership, TESOL, International Education, and a self-designed degree in Intercultural Service, Leadership & Management, putting SIT at the forefront of global institutions sending effective leaders, professionals and change-makers into the world.
Many of SIT’s graduates go on to work in high-level positions with organizations such as the United Nations, nongovernmental organizations, and major foundations across the globe.
To learn more about SIT Graduate Institute programs, visit our website. To learn more about the School for International Training and its programs for students at every age on every continent, see SIT’s website.
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)
Dr. Cheikh Thiam will lead SIT’s large and diverse portfolio of sub-Sahara programs
BRATTLEBORO, Vermont – Dr. Cheikh Thiam, academic director for SIT Study Abroad in Senegal, will become SIT academic dean for Africa South of the Sahara starting Jan. 1, 2020, School for International Training announced today.
Thiam co-leads SIT Study Abroad programs in Senegal focused on global security and religious pluralism, and designed a pioneering undergraduate program that explores how hip-hop artists and cultural influencers are redefining Africa’s future. “I am looking forward to taking on this expanded role at SIT, while drawing from my research examining collective imaginations of being and identity in Africa and the African diaspora in the colonial and postcolonial era,” said Thiam, who has directed study abroad programs in Senegal for the past 10 years.
As academic dean, Thiam will lead one of the broadest portfolios of programs in Africa of any U.S. institution. SIT’s multidisciplinary portfolio of accredited undergraduate programs covers nine sub-Saharan countries and encompasses subjects such as biodiversity and wildlife management, multiculturalism and human rights, health policy and social transformation, and even offers a journalism program. Several of SIT’s Global MA programs also have components based in Africa, including climate change in Tanzania, humanitarian assistance in Uganda, global health in Kenya, and international diplomacy in South Africa.
Cheikh’s outstanding scholarship and network of relationships across Africa and the United States, combined with his passion for student-centered study abroad classrooms, make him an outstanding addition to our leadership team.
— SIT President Dr. Sophia Howlett
Thiam brings to his new role a strong background in U.S. higher education. He has an MA and a PhD in comparative literature from Binghamton University, an MA in French from the University of Provence in Aix-en-Provence, as well as a BA from Université Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar. He served as associate professor of African American studies, African studies, and French at The Ohio State University. He is the author of “Return to the Kingdom of Childhood: Re-envisioning the Legacy and Philosophical Relevance of Negritude,” published by Ohio State University Press in 2014.
Thiam also was the editor of Negritude Reloaded, a special issue of Journal on African Philosophy, an associate editor of Research in African Literatures, and has published widely in literature and philosophy journals such as Ethiopiques, West Africa Review, La Revue Africaine, La Revue du Graat, French Review, Research in African Literature, Dalhousie French Review, and Journal on African Philosophy. He recently completed a second book manuscript, “Epistemologies from the South: Negritude, Modernity, and the Idea of Africa.”
In announcing his appointment, SIT President Dr. Sophia Howlett said, “Cheikh’s outstanding scholarship and network of relationships across Africa and the United States, combined with his passion for student-centered study abroad classrooms, make him an exceptional addition to our leadership team.”
Thiam will join Howlett’s Council of Deans, a group that oversees SIT’s undergraduate programs, the SIT Graduate Institute, and SIT’s stable of more than 80 study abroad programs in Asia and the Pacific, Europe and the Middle East, Latin America, and the International Honors Program.
Thiam succeeds Dr. Daniel Lumonya, who has served as academic dean for the region since August 2015. Prior to that time, Lumonya was SIT academic director in Uganda. Lumonya completed his PhD in development sociology at Cornell University. “I have had the chance to work with Cheikh on our evolving programs in the region and I welcome the depth of experience he brings to this position,” Lumonya said.
Lumonya is leaving to pursue a career in research, teaching and community service from his country, Uganda. “I want to thank Dan for his dedicated work and stellar contributions to SIT, both as an academic director and dean,” Howlett said. “We will all miss him.”
Christine has a bachelor’s degree in international relations from United States International University (Nairobi-Kenya), and was a participant in the U.S. State Department’s YES program. She is a volunteer at the Organization for Intercultural Education in Nairobi helping with office operations, and has more than four years of experience with intercultural programs. Christine assists SIT with a variety of tasks including student support and program management.
Miltone is a certified public accountant who has worked with SIT Study Abroad in Kenya since 2004. He holds a graduate diploma in business administration and a degree in development studies. Before joining the program, he worked as a research assistant for Family Care International, as part of an extensive research project on safe motherhood, and for SOS Kinderdof. As the program coordinator, Miltone assists the academic director in the day-to-day running of the program by performing various administrative duties and doubles as the student affairs coordinator. He also offers student support by organizing and leading excursions, facilitating lecture sessions, compliance, procurement, local program partnerships, and logistics.
Applications open Sept. 15
With undergraduates’ schedules in full swing for the new academic year, it’s not too soon to start thinking about how to make the most of summer 2019. Imagine snorkeling in one of the world’s top diving sites as you study marine ecology in Panama, building career skills with an internship at an NGO in Vietnam, exploring Madagascar’s extraordinary natural environment to learn about traditional medicine, or learning Arabic in Jordan or Morocco.
Those are just some of the many opportunities available through School for International Training (SIT). During summer 2019, SIT Study Abroad is offering 23 programs in 17 countries that will appeal to a wide range of majors and interests, including five skills-building internship opportunities.
Like all SIT Study Abroad programs, each summer program offers academic rigor and an immersive cultural experience within the framework of at least one critical global issue. Applications for these programs open September 15.
New to the SIT Student Abroad summer portfolio this year are:
Colombia: Building a Culture of Peace – Integrate peace studies with Colombia’s cultures through music, dance, and food from the program base in the vibrant, multicultural Caribbean Coast city of Cartagena, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Vietnam: Nongovernmental Organization Internship – Learn about development and the roles of nongovernmental organizations engaged in social change through this guided internship, which also includes lectures and site visits. Customize this program based on your areas of interest.
SIT summer programs, sorted according to themes, are:
Climate | Environment
Iceland: Renewable Energy, Technology, and Resource Economics
Indonesia: Biodiversity and Conservation in Bali and Borneo
Jordan: Engineering and Design for Sustainable Environments
Nepal: Geoscience in the Himalaya
Panama: Marine Ecology & Blue Carbon Conservation in the Pacific & Caribbean
Tanzania: Climate Change and Sustainability, Mount Kilimanjaro to Zanzibar
Development | Economy | Inequality
India: Agroecology and Food Security in the Himalaya
Panama: Community and Nongovernmental Organizations Internship
Vietnam: Nongovernmental Organization Internship
Global Health
China: Community Health and Traditional Chinese Medicine
India: Traditional Medicine and Healthcare Practices
Jordan: Counseling and Humanitarian Action Internship
Kenya: Public Health in the Tropics Internship
Madagascar: Traditional Medicine and Healthcare Systems
Switzerland: Food Security and Nutrition
Media | Arts | Social Change
Argentina: Art, Memory, and Social Transformation
Migration | Identity | Resilience
Jordan: Intensive Arabic Language Studies
Morocco: Arabic Language and Community Service
Peace | Human Rights | Social Movements
Colombia: Building a Culture of Peace
South Africa: Education and Social Change
South Africa: Social Justice and Activism Internship
Switzerland: International Studies and Multilateral Diplomacy
Uganda and Rwanda: Peace and Conflict Studies in the Lake Victoria Basin
Visit our website for more information on these and all of SIT’s immersive, experiential study abroad opportunities.