Twenty SUNY Oneonta students traveled to the Colombian island of San Andres over spring break 2012 as part of a unique Spanish field course.
Designed by Dr. Maria Cristina Montoya, Assistant Professor of Spanish, with support from Dr. Carol Dean, Assistant Professor of Foreign Language Education, the course combined cultural study with service learning. To prepare for the trip, students selected research topics, planned service projects and collected donated school supplies and personal hygiene items from the campus community.
During the 10-day trip, they immersed themselves in island life, practicing their Spanish and learning about the culture while interacting with groups of children, teens and senior citizens. When they returned, they completed research projects on various aspects of the San Andres culture.