It\u2019s easy to say that students at Augsburg College are interested in the world around them and that they strive to make a difference by serving their neighbors. It shows a deeper commitment to living out the College\u2019s mission to be engaged citizens when a group of student-athletes chooses to take a winter break trip to Nicaragua instead of a destination beach vacation in Costa Rica.<\/p>\n
This winter, the women\u2019s soccer team showed just what it means to be an Auggie when the group of student athletes voted to go to Nicaragua for a trip comprised of community engagement, reflective service work, and soccer. When the student-athletes combined their desire for such a trip with the rich programming that comes from partnering with the College\u2019s 30-year-old, award-winning Center for Global Education (CGE), the team landed an experience that pushed their boundaries and understanding of the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe players genuinely have hungry hearts and open minds,\u201d said Mike Navarre, head coach of the women\u2019s soccer team. \u201cThey voted to have an immersion experience, and I am proud that they feel they have a responsibility to make the world better.\u201d<\/p>\n
By collaborating with CGE, the women\u2019s soccer team became the first of the Auggie teams to participate in a winter break trip that met the College\u2019s \u201cAugsburg Experience\u201d requirement, a distinctive feature of an Augsburg education that links classroom theory with off-campus learning through activities including internships, practica, service-learning courses, study abroad, special and individualized off-campus immersion experiences, and more.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur CGE program has deep relationships and a permanent presence in Nicaragua, as well as other locations in the world. We have established mutual trust with our international partners, so students who go abroad engage in meaningful ways with the communities that they visit,\u201d said Leah Spinosa de Vega, director of Augsburg Abroad and International Programs.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe result is that we deliver a customized experience that aligns students\u2019 talents and interests with the wants and needs of the community. The programs also challenge students to see that the community also serves the students \u2014that both groups experience a mutual gain from the engagement and that there is reciprocity of giving.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the Auggie women\u2019s soccer team, CGE designed a program that included service at a preschool and soccer clinic, competition against Nicaragua\u2019s national women\u2019s soccer team, and cultural learning activities.<\/p>\n
The student-athletes spent about a third of their time serving two organizations, Nica HOPE (nicahope. org) and Casa Alianza (casa-alianza. org). The team painted the preschool operated by Nica HOPE, an organization that evolved to serve the needs of people who live around and near the site of the now-closed Managua City trash dump and who depended upon foraging in the dump for income and survival.<\/p>\n
For the second service project, student-athletes conducted a soccer training clinic with Casa Alianza\u2014an organization that serves young people who are homeless, or may have been trafficked or exploited.<\/p>\n
The clinic prepared the Casa Alianza youth soccer team to represent Nicaragua in the international Street Child World Cup (streetchildunited.org), a soccer tournament that is held in late March in Brazil with the goal of raising international awareness of issues of homeless youths.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were humbled by the challenges of the kids at Casa Alianza and grateful to share in their love of soccer,\u201d Navarre said.<\/p>\n
The Auggie team also had the opportunity to compete in a series of three games against the Nicaragua women\u2019s national football (soccer) team. While the Nicaraguan team won two games, the Auggies tied in the third game. All the games received coverage in Nicaraguan newspapers, an added bonus because it raises awareness of the value and impact of women\u2019s sports.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur players work hard and respond well to raised expectations on and off the field,\u201d Navarre said. \u201cWe showcase who we are by how we play soccer. It\u2019s our medium. It has proven to be a significant medium through which our players can grow individually and collectively.\u201d<\/p>\n
The team also visited a coffee growing cooperative, La Reina Agroecotourism Project, in the small, rural community of Matagalpa. The visit was a chance to learn about the cooperative, which has 55 members of whom 22 are women, about the impact of coffee and ecotourism on the national economy, and about the culture and typical lifestyle in Nicaragua.<\/p>\n
All the experiences\u2014working to improve the Nica HOPE preschool, working on soccer techniques with homeless youths through Casa Alianza, visiting the coffee cooperative, and even the bits of free time\u2014not only help students build a greater understanding of the world we share, but also help them prepare for the work world.<\/p>\n
\u201cEmployers today are looking for employees with intercultural skills,\u201d said Spinosa de Vega. \u201cAugsburg and CGE programs require that participants take time to reflect upon their experience. Reflection is fundamental to driving intercultural skills development. This process undertaken by the team\u2014to engage and reflect\u2014will help bolster their success in their professional and personal lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
To make the trip possible, student-athletes conducted soccer camps and clinics, fundraisers, and an online auction. In all, they raised about $20,000.<\/p>\n
Team co-captain Alekzandra \u201cAli\u201d Miller \u201914, a business management major responsible for the online auction, said she knew the value and impact that playing soccer and studying abroad can have. During high school, Miller played soccer in Sweden and Denmark, and earlier in her college career, she spent a semester studying in Spain. Miller wanted her teammates to have an experience like the ones she had, but also knew finances would be a challenge for some of her teammates.<\/p>\n
The trip was highly rewarding to all the participants and Navarre and Spinosa de Vega are hopeful that the success of the trip will spur other athletics teams to explore how to mix sport, community engagement, and reflective service for the type of meaningful learning experience for which Augsburg College is nationally known.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hard to say how much of an impact we were able to make in just eight days,\u201d Miller said. \u201cBut I can say for certain that our team was impacted for the better. These types of experiences are the kind of catalysts that give a direction to people\u2019s lives, that spark a new type of gratitude, and that change the way we think about and live our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis trip confirmed for me and the players that we have an obligation to make ourselves and the world a little better,\u201d Navarre said. \u201cIn doing so, we also make our own lives better. We don\u2019t need to be overwhelmed by the enormity or gravity of the world\u2019s problems. We can embrace the world to make meaningful connections and improvements.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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