Virtual Silver Lining

BY ROB CHURA DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL EDUCATION

Since the pandemic forced SLUH to temporarily suspend our international travel and exchange programs last spring, we have focused our attention on creating innovative and engaging virtual exchanges with our partner schools. This has yielded results far beyond any initial expectations, opening up new possibilities and opportunities for even more SLUH students and faculty to participate in a global learning experience. Whereas in the past that type of experience required a passport and a plane ticket, now it only requires a stable wifi connection. These newfound opportunities have been an exciting addition to the SLUH Global Education curriculum and are here to stay, even after we can resume our travel programs.

GO FORTH

The Go Forth campaign established a new Office of Global Education, an expansion of foreign language offerings to include Arabic Language and Culture Studies, and increased opportunities for SLUH students and faculty to incorporate international immersion experiences into the curriculum. Hsinchu, Taiwan

Pamplona, Spain

Nanjing, China

St. Louis, MO, USA

Santiago, Chile

The process began last summer with two unique projects: • A virtual exchange involving SLUH Arabic students and their Moroccan peers working together on one of the 17 U.N. Sustainable Developmental Goals. • A series of discussions with students from our partner schools (Chile, China, Colombia, Russia, Spain and Taiwan), in which students shared their pandemic experiences.

Watch student discussions about the pandemic

In both cases, all students came away with valuable insights on global issues, fascinating cultural perspectives, confidence in themselves and valuable leadership experience. With these successes, it was obvious that this type of virtual exchange was not just an acceptable temporary substitute, but a powerful new tool.

We have built on that momentum throughout this school year. This fall and winter, Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Spanish classes have had regular language exchanges with students from our partner schools. This model has expanded beyond our language curriculum into other academic departments. Examples include: • Mixed groups of SLUH and partner school students have participated in engaging discussions of current and past events through virtual visits to the Missouri History Museum. • Numerous SLUH students of all grade levels have participated in an ongoing series of virtual student dialogues on social justice, student activism and other global issues. • The entire freshman class engaged in a discussion with Juan Pablo Villalobos, the author of our summer reading book, The Other

Side, as he joined them virtually from Barcelona. • For Christmas, we organized a Silent Night project with our band and choir program as well as those of several partner schools.

Looking ahead, plans are already in development to possibly create similar virtual experiences in Theology and various Social Studies courses.

The feedback from students and teachers has been overwhelmingly positive – and these efforts have also yielded some very impressive, tangible results. View Silent Night project

Seven Jr. Bills advanced as semifinalists for an appointment to the U.S. State Department sponsored National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) program. This highly competitive program provides a fully-funded opportunity to study one of eight critical languages (SLUH teaches three of them, including Arabic, Chinese and Russian) for 5-7 weeks in a total immersion setting. The programs are conducted in a country where the language is spoken, and students live with host families as they take daily intensive language courses. Last summer SLUH had a record four students earn an appointment to this program, so chances look very good for another record year this summer.

INSIGNIS PODCAST GOES GLOBAL

After a long break imposed by the pandemic, Insignis, the SLUH Podcast, returned with the final episode in the World Learning series. It features:

• Sam Owen '17, who is in his final year at Caltech. His experience on

Senior Project at San Yves Nutrition

Center in Yoro, Honduras set him on a path that led to an internship at NASA and, in a surprising twist, to Iceland. • Retired teacher Charley Merriott, the founder and patron saint of the

The Nutrition Center in Honduras, gives moving testimony to what his many years of service meant to him and how he saw it transform a generation of young men. • Patrick Mulligan '13, current

Director of The Nutrition Center. His service to malnourished children compelled him to ask why so many were hungry in a land of plenty. That question ultimately drove him to found Nutrifund – a Nonprofit with a mission of addressing the root causes of hunger in Honduras.

Insignis is available on the SLUH website, Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

www.sluh.org/insignis

Listen to Insignis on iTunes