Student Blogger

Every semester, one student from each HECUA program takes on the role of student blogger, sending regular dispatches from the field. Syd Stratman will be HECUA’s student blogger for the Making Media, Making Change program this spring semester. Syd is a senior at the University of Minnesota, majoring in Studies in Cinema and Media Culture […] Read More »

This program made me more aware of how much I don’t know about the indigenous people who lived on the land that I now live on, and how important it is to learn about indigenous rights in the United States. Going abroad made me more independent and confident, and gave me life-long friends and memories. Read More »

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 »

With my work experience, I probably don’t need an internship, but I fell in love with the MMMC program and its community partner: the Saint Paul Neighborhood Network (SPNN). The MMMC classes allowed me to dive into topics and learn about the power of media and how we can use it to create real changes and connections within our local, national, and global communities. Read More »

A mini-reunion of Hecua Ecuador students– In St. Paul, MN! We were lucky enough to have three student bloggers from the Community Internships in Latin America program in Ecuador in Spring of 2017. This week, Maya Swope, a Macalester College student majoring in Environmental Studies and Geography returns to the blog for her post-program analysis. […] Read More »

In addition to semester-long programs in the United States and abroad, HECUA offers a Race in America: Then and Now, a summer-term program. Race in America is a three-week-long exploration of the Black Freedom Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, as well as current movements for racial and economic equity, based in Jackson, Mississippi. HECUA Race in America alumna […] Read More »

In addition to semester-long programs in the United States and abroad, HECUA offers a summer-term program: Race in America: Then and Now. This program is a three-week-long exploration of the Black Freedom Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, as well as current movements for racial and economic equity, based in Jackson, Mississippi. We’re delighted to tell you […] Read More »

On our second day, we went down the gravel road to Wairarapa Forest School. This is an outdoor classroom created for children, integrating children back into the outdoors. Its focus is to let children be children--to teach them about bugs, soil, gardening, trees--things that children no longer truly learn about in today's society. We were welcomed in a traditional Māori way. Māori words were exchanged and we entered the circle and sang a Māori song. This classroom was so welcoming, I too felt like I reentered my childhood. While barefoot, we climbed trees, looked for bugs, and drank from the fresh spring with the children. Afterwards we explored the land. Read More »

I remember in sharp clarity the person I was three and a half months ago, and I’ll be honest; she’s not that different from the person I am today, even now that I’ve nearly finished studied abroad. Read More »