Highlighting the Study Center of Augsburg CGEE in Cuernavaca, Mexico

Augsburg staff members Fátima Mendoza and Lucy Hardaker co-presented a session titled: “Bridging Barriers: Supporting Students in Non-Traditional Locations.”

The presentation focused on encouraging students to look beyond Western European destinations (such as Barcelona and London) and instead explore high-impact experiences like the one offered at Augsburg’s own Mexico Study Center. The presentation highlighted on three unique perspectives, including:

• Ethical Advising and Marketing strategies for promoting programs in Latin America and Africa; from the point-of-view of advisors & US-based staff.
• The incredible on-the-ground student experience in Mexico; from the point-of-view of on-site staff in Mexico.
• The significant impact of the Mexico Study Center on the careers and life trajectories of alumni; from the point-of-view of alumni themselves.

The session was powerfully enhanced by two Augsburg students and recent Mexico study abroad alumni who shared their personal testimonials: Diana Reyes ’26 and John Reuss ’23 and MAT ’26. Their stories brought to life the transformative value of choosing a global learning experience outside of the conventional.

This successful presentation underscores Augsburg’s commitment to providing students with meaningful study abroad opportunities that truly broaden their horizons and enhance career readiness post-graduation.

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From Fátima’s proposal:

“Using an Ecopedagogy Approach to achieve praxis through Experiential Education: Learning Experiences in Amatlan de Quetzalcoatl, a native community in Morelos, México”

M.Ed. Fátima Mendoza��

In the search for significant experiences and lenses through which we as teachers can lead an education process of studying and understanding reality, coming across an Ecopedagogy approach has given the possibility of looking into a community’s history, such as the welcoming indigenous Nahua community of Amatlan de Quetzalcoatl. Indigenous place-specific epistemological processes, knowledge systems and approaches to learning, does not simply include the transmission of��content, but centers on lived experiences, praxis and shared meaning and knowledge making in an inherent way (Nesterova, 2020). In this presentation, the aim is to share some insights and particular practices of the Ecopedagogy approach that we’ve been implementing in collaboration with members of this community to achieve��a dialogue and reflection process that would lead to action (praxis) in the ongoing search of building strong foundations through Education towards a more equitable and sustainable society.

The 34th Annual Conference’s topic is “Culture, Sustainability, and Environment in Latin America” and will take place March 8-11, 2023, in Palenque, Mexico.

Congratulations to Fátima!

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Joseph Connelly, Institutional Relations And Central American Program Manager, and CGEE Central America Alumni, will be co-presenting at NAFSA Region X on “Mission-Oriented Study Abroad: A Practical Approach.” His co-presenter is Matthew Schiesel, Associate Director of Study Abroad And International Fellowships at Siena College in New York.

From the NAFSA Region X conference website, “This interactive session will focus on the impact of creating and mobilizing mission-oriented study abroad programs and office processes. Using Siena College and Augsburg University’s Center for Global Education and Experience as backdrops, this session will introduce participants to mission design and delivery from a provider, institutional and office perspective with a focus on program creation, program reviews, student advising, marketing, and curricular integration.”

Learning Objectives:

• Clarify the importance of “mission” as it relates to study abroad, and strategically identify ways this mission can be represented in program offerings and student engagement
• Define for college leadership how study abroad fits into and fulfills the institution’s mission and goals
• Conduct a review of study abroad programs with a focus on mission and goals, and identify new program opportunities that align with this mindset
• Reflect on key student advising and engagement practices to support one’s mission

Congratulations to Joe on presenting to NAFSA Region X!

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Ari Nicholson, CGEE Central America Alumni, Clark University graduate, and current International Resident Assistant in CGEE Mexico, and Ann Lutterman-Aguilar, CGEE Mexico Director, will be co-presenting at NAFSA Region XI on “Study Abroad for Changemakers: Vetting & Creating Decolonial Community-Based Programs.” Their co-presenter is Kuy Howard, Clark University Study Abroad Advisor.

From the abstract: “How do we approach international education while working in communities ravaged by an imperialist history? ��How do we ensure that our students learn from local communities without exoticizing them, instead enabling them to learn from people whose voices have been excluded or marginalized in academia? In this interactive session, we will share research findings from community partners & decolonial theorists, as well as best practices for vetting and creating critical and decolonial study abroad.”

Congratulations to Ari and Ann on presenting to NAFSA Region XI!

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The following are a few excerpts from his work.

“International immersion and study abroad would, however, significantly change the course of my life. After a week-long immersion focused on human rights in Guatemala, I was a new man.”

On the history of CGEE

In 2020, the Center for Global Education and Experience celebrated its fortieth birthday since its founding in 1980. While that sounds like ancient history to many of the undergraduate students I accompany, many faculty and staff members are able to personally recall the realities facing Latin America in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and understand both the importance and the boldness of the decision to form a Center whose main function was to be exposing U.S. citizens to the lived realities on the ground in Mexico and Central America during those brutal years of state repression and violence.

In this context, and as a response to these exact conditions, the Center for Global Education and Experience was founded with the mandate and deep belief in the importance of U.S. citizens coming to see these realities with their own eyes. The mission of CGEE was to provide the opportunity for U.S. citizens to hear testimony directly from the affected people; to feel the ache, the despair, the stench of loss, and utter lack of control that the people felt in the face of such crushing poverty and violence—realities that are impossible to capture in a news report, much less a Congressional report, and which must be encountered directly and without mediation to be understood.

On Solidarity and Immersions

In recent years, Jesuit institutions have been at the forefront of a move away from a traditional model of “service trips,” which often serve to reinforce colonial power dynamics and stereotypes, and toward an “immersion model” that encourages community engagement, accompaniment, and solidarity. My experience is that undergraduate students have a deep desire to act and engage, but when thinking about travel to the developing world, it is often the case that the only term they have been given for this type of engagement is “service” or even “mission trips.” Nevertheless, the students I have accompanied have shown that they deeply desire meaningful engagement and relationship building, and if spaces are created to facilitate this, they are more than happy to let go of the urge to “do service.” A lens of solidarity, in contrast to service, encourages participants to strive for relationships characterized by equality, reciprocity, and respect.

A lens of solidarity during the immersion itself does not mean there is no call to service of any kind. Rather, participants recognize that this type of action will take place once they return home, within their own local and national contexts. The action step is a quintessential element of praxis, without which the circle is broken; if it is missing, the experience was just a vacation. At CGEE, programs are oriented toward the hope that participants’ action steps are born out of new insight, depth, and transformation.

In 2020, the world experienced the powerlessness that the poor and marginalized live daily, as the flaws and weakest links in our systems were exposed. Solidarity in this context will mean resisting the temptation to go back to our “normal,” comfortable lives, and will necessitate deep commitments of attention and struggle on behalf of those who still need liberation. Such solidarity requires compassion, not simply in the form of empathy, but a profound form of accompanying those who suffer.

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Congratulations to Dr. Ann Lutterman-Aguilar for her published article in in the latest issue of the��Journal of��Feminist Studies in Religion. The article is��titled “A Protestant��Feminist��Perspective in Response to Our Current Context of Violence.”

A can be found online.

Congratulations to Ann and her great scholarly work!

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Congratulations to Dr. Lamont Slater on completing his Ph.D. in History!

On April 6th, 2018, Doctoral candidate Lamont Slater successfully defended his dissertation, “Reframing the Herero/Nama Genocide: An Examination of the Genocide Through the Theories of Foucault and Athens” at Salve Regina University in Rhode Island.

Dr. Lamont Slater is an instructor and program coordinator at Augsburg CGEE’s Study Center in Namibia and teaches the course “The Politics of Development in Southern Africa.” He joined Augsburg CGEE in 2016.

Congratulations to Dr. Lamont Slater!

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Patrick joined Augsburg CGEE��on August 1 and brings 20+ years of experience advancing social justice and change through global education, experiential learning, program development, and community development.�� At Augsburg, he will offer strategic, curricular, and operational leadership for our global education programs and initiatives, both domestically and internationally.

Most recently, Pat served 12 years as director of operations at the Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs (HECUA).�� HECUA, a consortium of 24 colleagues and universities, offers off-campus academic programs rooted in interdisciplinary, community-based experiential education. Throughout his career, Pat has demonstrated a deep commitment to equity, to educating an intentionally diverse mix of students, and to building intercultural competence.

Pat earned a bachelor’s in history from St. Olaf College and holds the Master of Arts in Public Affairs from the Humphrey School at the University of Minnesota.

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On Friday, November 18th, Ann will be co-presenting on, “Intercultural Faculty Training for the Development of Innovative Global Initiatives.” ��From the conference website:

During this session, we’ll explore resources and frameworks that allow participants to identify the specific needs of their home campuses in relation to implementing intercultural and diversity initiatives. Intercultural competence has an impact on educators’ daily duties and projects, allowing them to bridge the cultural differences present on campuses and in education abroad programs. This type of competence helps to develop innovative initiatives and to align with global learning outcomes and goals. Furthermore, intercultural competence fosters reflection and creativity with the aim of developing thoughtful and distinctive new projects. Panelists will present models for intercultural training, lead discussions on best practices in this area, examine projects developed as a result of intercultural training, and review intercultural tools that can help when implementing new programs.

Congratulations to Ann on being chosen to present at this National Conference!

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On Saturday, November 12th, Joe will be co-presenting on, “Beyond the Break: Moving to Action and Advocacy”. From IFTJ’s website:

Did you have an amazing experience on an Immersion Trip��over a break but aren’t sure what to do with that now? Do you want to take that experience to the next level and see how you can use it as a building block to get the most out of the Teach In? Join us in this pre-session to go beyond your break. Reflect on you what learned on your break, hear from a service immersion host site about what they’d like to see people doing after they leave, and see where your gifts and passions might put you on the Social Change Wheel and how that can turn into advocacy.

We are honored that Joe will be representing us at this event!

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