Education comes in many forms. Interacting with other cultures is one of the most impactful. It challenges a students’ worldview, develops their communication skills, and teaches them to manage issues they’ll face as professionals. After all, expertise is best developed through practical experience.
Pacific Oaks College highlights this type of interactive education through our study-abroad programs in the “Education Beyond Borders” initiative of The Community Solution Education System.
Watch our amazing video recapping our 10-day visit to Berlin, where the “Immigration in Contexts” course allowed students to engage with the world community, bringing them face-to-face with the plight of refugees. Nearly 750,000 people filed for asylum in Germany in 2016, according to the EU Statistical Office.
The visit provided valuable experience, often unavailable for students juggling work, family, and school.
While touring the emergency refugee shelter of the Berliner Stadtmission (a.k.a. “The Balloon”), students recruited its residents to participate in the PhotoVoice project. They were paired with a shelter resident, given a camera, and then the explored Berlin using photography to answer one question: “Who Are You?”
Students found the experience eye-opening, realizing only so much can be learned from a textbook. Their photos were displayed during an exhibition to conclude the trip.
“Having been exposed to a broader lens, I’m certain that [our students] are going to be much more sophisticated, analytics, and holistic in their approach to solving problems,” said Pacific Oaks President Patricia A. Breen, Ph. D. When you give students an opportunity to take what they’ve studied in books and classrooms and apply it in real-world situations, you get really amazing results.”
Pacific Oaks College takes pride in our mission to serve diverse, local communities while providing our students the opportunity to become a part of an engaged, global student community.
Watch the full video to explore how you can begin making an impact locally, and globally.
