by “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” – Mark Twain
Throughout the interviews conducted for this blog over the semester, there has been a consistent theme present. Students, staff, and faculty agree that it is crucial for Christians to go to engage with the world. But how?
“Step one is to get out there and travel yourself,” Bradley Trull answers.
“…you will never understand a culture like you do when you are in that culture. Being there is the most critical thing,” Dr. Eric Straw says. “Number one: be there. Number two: be around those who have been there.”
“Pick someone, or a group of someones, and care about them: that’s the most important part, in your hometown or halfway across the world,” says student Bethany Olmstead.
At Corban, there are countless opportunities to both go out into the world and interact with people from different cultures. Here are some of the ways you can engage with the world as a student:
Study Abroad
Best Semester
Best Semester offers a wide variety of study abroad opportunities for students and Christian Universities. Students can experience a semester studying history in the Middle East, learning about Latin American culture in Costa Rica, or even studying film in Los Angeles. There are opportunities in locations in Europe, Africa, Latin America, Australia, the Middle East, and the United States. This is a chance for students to live in a different culture and earn credit toward their degree.
Camp10
Camp10 is where “adventure meets purpose”. This is a summer opportunity for students to spend three weeks living on the Waterburg biosphere in South Africa, engaging in culture and earning college credit. Students engage in a variety of activities, from going on safaris to ministering to locals.
Study Tours
Hoff School of Business Study Tour
Each year, the Hoff School of Business takes a group of business students on an international trip to learn more about business in a different context. The study tour is taken for credit and offers real-life international business experience.
Upcoming study tours:
2019 – Japan (Lean Manufacturing at Toyota)
2020 – Nepal (Social Entrepreneurship)
2021 – Italy (Business History in Venice)
Other study tours:
Study tours are offered from different departments on campus. This may look like travelling to England with the English department, Israel or Cameroon with the Ministry department, or Indonesia with the Education department. Talk to your professors for more global opportunities in your department.
Missions
SOS Trips
Each year, student teams go out on Summer of Service mission trips. Trips have gone to Haiti (pictured below), Colombia, Greece, Czech Republic, and Turkey, just to name a few. SOS trips go out every May and last approximately 2 weeks.
Spring Break Missions
Although spring break mission trips are not global, they have the potential to reach out to diverse people around the US and make a difference. Spring break mission trip sign-ups occur in the fall, and trips fundraise and prepare to go out in the spring. Trips have served in places like Houston, Salt Mountain in Idaho, the Los Angeles Dream Center, His Mansion ministries in New Hampshire, and more.
Missions organizations
Corban has connections with many different missions organizations. Each year during World Outreach Week (typically in October), these organizations come and spend time with students. They offer a variety of opportunities for students, from short-term trips to internships to long-term missions opportunities. Here are just a few of these organizations:
Reach
There are opportunities to minister to people of different cultures through the Reach program. This could look like tutoring in English, working with resettling refugees, and more. Contact reach@corban.edu for more information on opportunities.
Other Opportunities
Finally, there are chances to be involved globally without leaving Corban’s campus.
Students can choose to minor in TESOL (Teaching Speakers of Other Languages). This can be paired with any major. TESOL education prepares students to teach English, which provides a great opportunity to go abroad.
Each year the Center for Global Engagement offers and Cultural Intelligence (CQ) Workshop for students, staff and faculty. This workshop teaches how to interact across cultures and is helpful whether you plan to stay in the United States or to travel abroad.
Students who want to learn more about culture and about the world can do so simply by interacting with international students on Corban’s campus.
