Students Jody Graham, Geneva Marshall, Eric Matsuno, Courtney Odom and Alison Zimmer didn’t know what to expect when they left for South Africa on June 2, 2008 with 12 other students enrolled in HDEV300I: Death and Dying in South Africa. The study abroad course, led by Professor Pamela Roberts, allowed them to become immersed in township culture, work in programs for orphaned children, interact with hospice and community health workers and visit historic sites that provided a context for death and dying today in South Africa.
Last month, during 7 Days of Service, an annual weeklong filled with community service presentations and activities, Graham, Marshall, Matsuno, Odom and Zimmer shared emotional stories about the people they met in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Soweto, and Dennilton.
For Marshall, one of the most influential experiences of the course was visiting homes with a community health worker to care for patients too sick to leave home. They met with one man who had lived with AIDS for several years.
“His mother said he looked just like his older brother right before he died,” Marshall said. “The health worker started crying. She sees that every day. I don’t know how you do that.”
The students agreed that taking the course in South Africa has left a lasting impact. They were moved by how happy the young children they met in South Africa are even though they are surrounded by death and dying. They admitted that what they learned about the country’s history and culture broadened their views of the world. They also spoke about how their experiences changed their goals for the future. Zimmer, Graham and Marshall are planning to return with the study abroad course in summer 2009. Matsuno, a business major, has added human development as a double major and Graham has reexamined her plans for the future.
“I am hoping I can go back to South Africa as a physician’s assistant working with a non-profit organization,” said Graham, a biology major.
Learn more about the students’ experiences in South Africa through their powerfully written reflections, photos and blogs.