Stories from the Field

What I love about HECUA’s Inequality in America program is not just the class material, the internship placement, or the incredible cognitive growth you go through, but the way in which the program director Phil Sandro makes time for students’ mental health. Read More »

But the thing about studying or living abroad is that there really is no guarantee you will enjoy the experience. You can read all of the promotional material and Google Image search all you want, but there’s no way of telling whether you will be thriving or enduring the next three months until you have actually settled into your new life overseas. And to my slightly surprised gratitude, I have discovered that I love the abroad life. Read More »

“Having knowledge of systemic issues has helped me have more confidence as I advocate for families. I can see what they are working against and where they are coming from.” Read More »

In HECUA’s Inequality in America program we draw on Paul Loeb’s book Soul of a Citizen: Living with Conviction in Challenging Times to dismantle the feelings of powerlessness that keep people from engaging in social movements. Loeb writes about the “false myth” that a person taking a political stand has to be a “larger-than-life figure—someone with more time, energy, courage, vision, or knowledge than any normal person could ever possess.” Read More »

On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, I intern at an organization called Conscious Consumers, located on a bustling area of Wellington called Cuba Street. Conscious Consumers is an organization of about fifteen people with a mission to connect ethically conscious consumers with sustainable businesses, in order to bring positive change to the world. Read More »

First on the agenda was a “toxi-tour.” In the Amazon, there are valuable petroleum deposits. Specifically in Ecuador, these petroleum deposits give life to the economy. Here is the issue – the damage petroleum extraction does to flourishing environment is completely devastating. The struggle of finding a solution is even more devastating. What should a country like Ecuador do? A country that is economically funded by the market of petroleum, but also a country that contains the most biodiverse area in the entire planet. Read More »

As part of my HECUA internship at the Saint Paul Neighborhood Network (SPNN) I have the pleasure of working on one show for the duration of the semester. That show is Your Legislators, a weekly live show that airs every Thursday during the state legislative session. The program brings together two representatives from the house and the senate, one from each of the major political parties. Read More »

Since I’m a native English speaker studying abroad in an English-speaking place, many people would assume language would not be at the front my mind. Read More »

We drove to Cambridge, where we visited the farm of Jeanette Fitzsimons, a former Member of Parliament and co-leader of the Green Party of New Zealand. Before venturing to our next location, Raglan, we stopped at Maungatautari Ecological Island, where we learned about conservation efforts in New Zealand. Throughout this trip, we learned about both Māori and Pakeha (European) perspectives on complex issues such as farming, conservation, and world views. Read More »

Exciting news! HECUA is offering $1,000 travel awards for three fall 2018 programs abroad. We think HECUA programs are transformative for students, and for communities. One of our primary goals is to expand access to HECUA programs here and abroad. We want more students to have the opportunity to intern and study abroad with HECUA. […] Read More »