The Toucan Abroad Podcast

Our final episode of Season 2 also wraps up our series chatting with faculty from universities around North America who led faculty-led programs in a variety of disciplines to Belize. This final episodes  continues the focus on faculty led programs in Agriculture, the second largest economic sector in Belize.

In this episode, Dr. Becky Raulerson shares her perspective co-directing an agriculture focused program to Belize with Dr. Ricky Telg who we met in our previous episode. She gives us some background on herself and the work she does at the University of Florida and the key components of her study abroad program to Belize. She addresses the challenges that come with leading a study abroad program in terms of recruiting, financing, student and parent fears etc. She also delves into the impact that the study abroad program had on the students and gives advice to other faculty considering leading a study abroad program.

Becky Raulerson is a lecturer for the Department of Agricultural Education and Communication from Bonifay, Florida. Before joining the AEC team, Raulerson worked as a sales representative for Novartis Animal Health, a high school English teacher, the owner of a video production company and was most recently a research coordinator for the UF/IFAS Center for Public Issues Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (PIE Center).

Raulerson is a two-time graduate of the department, earning her Bachelor of Science in agricultural education and communication specializing in agricultural communication, and her Master of Science in agricultural education. Currently, Raulerson is a full-time lecturer and part-time doctoral student. As a student, her research focus is effectively communicating issues and evaluating consumer perceptions in agriculture and natural resources. In addition to the classes Raulerson teaches, she co-led the department study abroad trip to Belize with Dr. Ricky Telg and co-leads the Costa Rica undergraduate study abroad with Dr. J.C. Bunch.

Thanks for listening and look out for Season 3 coming up in Spring 2020.

We continue our series chatting with faculty from universities around North America who led faculty-led programs in a variety of disciplines to Belize. The final two episodes of Season 2 will focus on faculty led programs in Agriculture which is the second largest economic sector in Belize.

In this episode, Dr. Ricky Telg speaks about his work at the University of Florida, the field of Agricultural Communication and Agricultural Education, as well as his role as Co-Director on a faculty led program to Belize. He chats about the focus of the study abroad program, innovative ways to include reflective activities during the program and speaks about the impact studying abroad in Belize had on his students. Dr. Telg also addresses the benefit of partnering with a local program provider.

Dr. Ricky Telg is a professor in the University of Florida’s Department of Agricultural Education and Communication. In his agricultural communication, instructional technologies, and news writing courses, Telg integrates a hands-on approach to instruction that teaches students how to develop communication methods and digital media – such as web, video, and print – for the agricultural workplace. He currently serves as the director for the University of Florida/ Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences’ (UF/IFAS) Center for Public Issues Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (PIE Center). The PIE Center conducts and disseminates applied social science research impacting agriculture and natural resources.

Today, we continue our series chatting with faculty from universities around North America who led faculty-led programs in a variety of disciplines to Belize.

In this episode, we chat with Dr. Michael Vercelli who led his students on a program to Belize that focused on Music as Culture. Dr. Vercelli discusses his work in multiple looking at music and the African Disapora, how he prepared his students for immersion into the Belizean community as they learned about their music and culture as well as advice for faculty interested in leading similar programs.

Dr. Michael B. Vercelli is the director of the World Music Performance Center at West Virginia University. Michael holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Percussion Performance with a minor in Ethnomusicology from the University of Arizona. Michael’s research focuses on the transmission and performance practice of percussive traditions of Africa and African Diaspora. He has conducted long-term fieldwork on the xylophone traditions of Ghana and has studied in Brazil, Guinea, Uganda, Cuba, and Bali. 

Dr. Vercelli has received many awards for both his performance and study of indigenous music and has released recordings with master Ghanaian xylophonists Tijan Dorwana and Bernard Woma. Michael has received the Snowshoe Institute Award of Excellence for Scholarship in the Arts and the WVU College of Creative Arts awards for Outstanding Service and Internationalizing the College. At WVU, Dr. Vercelli directs summer study abroad courses to Ghana, Brazil, and Belize, focusing on music, dance and cultural immersion. Dr. Vercelli has published in the Percussive Arts Society’s journal, Percussive Notes, and in the third edition of Gary Cook’s Teaching Percussion. He is a participating member in the Percussive Arts Society, the Society for Ethnomusicology, and the International Council for Traditional Music. Michael has given lectures, performances, and workshops across the United States, Mexico, Brazil, China, and Europe. Dr. Vercelli is a Meinl Percussion Artist and a member of the Vic Firth Educational Team.

Today, we continue our series chatting with faculty from universities around North America who led faculty-led programs in a variety of disciplines to Belize.

In this episode, we chat with Dr. Heidi Hancher-Rauch who led the international component of her Health Promotion course to Belize. Dr. Hancher-Rauch speaks about the importance of incorporating an international component into her course, the ways in which she prepared her students in order to mitigate cultural misunderstandings & views when conducting health fairs in Belize as well as ethical challenges faced when leading a health program to Belize. She also gives inspiring advice for faculty who are interested in running a similar program.

Dr. Heidi Hancher-Rauch has practiced in the field of public health for almost 20 years and is CHES certified. Heidi has served as a university faculty member and researcher for more than 15 years, teaching a wide array of undergraduate and graduate public health courses, including service learning in multiple formats. She currently leads the Public Health Program at the University of Indianapolis, which includes an undergraduate degree in Public Health Education and Promotion, as well as a Master of Public Health with a concentration in Health Disparities. Her areas of expertise include community-based participatory research and program evaluation with diverse community partners, along with health policy and advocacy. Heidi serves as co-chair of the Advocacy Committee for SOPHE and recently was elected as the incoming Trustee for Advocacy and Resolutions to the SOPHE Board of Trustees.

For the next few episodes, we will chat with faculty from universities around North America who led faculty-led programs to Belize in fields of study such as health promotion, economics, music and agriculture. 

In this episode, we introduce Dr. Jonathan Warner, Professor Emeritus at Quest University in Canada, and is also a non-resident research associate with the Von Hugel Institute at Cambridge University. Dr. Warner chats about the unique model that Quest University offers as well as the course that he led to Belize in Sustainable Community Development. 

Our second episode of Season 2 continues looking at study abroad for students of color through the lens of the study abroad office at a well-known HBCU, Howard University. 

In this episode, MaRaina Montgomery gives us a look at the work she is doing at Howard University to prepare her students for their study abroad experiences. Our conversation covered the challenges she faces as well as her successes, a deeper look at some of her pre-departure workshops and advice for those preparing student of color for their study abroad experience. She also gives insight into the #studyabroadsoblack movement that has been named a Finalist for the 2019 GoAbroad Innovation Awards in the category of Innovation in Diversity. 

As a contributing thought-leader on theory and best practices within the field of International Education (IE), Maraina Montgomery’s area of focus is on the preparation and ongoing support of traditionally underrepresented students traveling abroad. She has 12-years of professional experience, domestically and abroad, as a teacher and administrator. Using a combination of in-group understanding and up-to-date theoretical standards, she works to support the holistic development of college students participating in overseas programs.

Ms. Montgomery is as an active member of NAFSA, the Forum on Education Abroad, the Forum’s Diversity and Inclusion Working Group and on the 2019 NAFSA Local Arrangements Committee. She is committed to influencing change within the IE field that supports the increased employment and participation of culturally diverse professionals and students. Maraina has lived, studied and traveled in 24 countries and in her free time, she enjoys time outdoors with her dog, Sage, and playing the Japanese Taiko drum.

We are back! In Season 2 of the Toucan Abroad Podcast we will delve into issues around supporting under-represented students in study abroad, hear from our alumni, and learn about developing programs in music, agriculture & health promotion. 

In this first episode, Dr. Jessica Pincham-King and Dr. Desiree' Melonas of Birmingham Southern College discuss their experience supporting students of color who were embarking on their first study abroad experience. The conversation covered issues from student motivation & support needed, dealing with parental concerns, addressing students’ reflections on black identity along with advice for other faculty and staff in study abroad offices that work with students of color & first-time travelers.  

Dr. Jessica Pincham-King is a director of experiential learning and instructor of sociology at Birmingham-Southern College in Birmingham, Alabama. Specifically, Dr. King assists faculty and students with designing collaborative undergraduate research projects, internships, and service-learning integrated courses with intentional integration of critical reflection. Dr. King teaches Introduction to Sociology, Oppression & Social Justice, and has co-taught Dialogues Across Differences: How Do We Engage in Challenging Conversations.

Dr. Desireé Melonas is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Birmingham-Southern College in Birmingham, Alabama. Before that, she was Visiting Assistant Professor at Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. She received her PhD in Political Science from Temple University and earned a certificate in Teaching in Higher Education. Her research and teaching interests include: black political thought, critical geography, black feminist thought, phenomenology, and black existentialism. Outside of campus, she serves on the Young Supporter's Board of Alabama Possible, an organization that has its aim removing barriers to poverty through education and advocacy. She's also a yogi and a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. 

In our final episode of Season 1 of the Toucan Abroad Podcast, we focus on social impact. What is social impact learning? How does it differ from service-learning? As a social enterprise, TEP is committed to ensuring that all our programs have a social impact.

To help us answer these questions, our guest this episode is Erina McWilliam-Lopez, Associate Director at the Social Impact Lab at Lynn University. Erina has experience in professional education, curriculum design, talent development, and teaching core concepts of social entrepreneurship and responsible investing. In her role at Lynn University, she leads a social impact curriculum innovation taskforce.

Erina teaches in the Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce Young Entrepreneur’s Academy, volunteers as an executive coach with Everwise, a startup focused on democratizing coaching, and is the co-director for a finalist concept in the Reimagining the Higher Education Ecosystem Challenge organized by the U.S. Department of Education Office of Education Technology.

Participating in an international service-learning experience is the opportunity of a lifetime that can have a huge impact on your life and that of the organization that you serve. However, there can be many challenges that hold you back from taking the leap and joining a program.

In this episode of the Toucan Abroad Podcast, our amazing alumnus Christopher Scott Tindle, chats with us about his journey to Belize for nine (9) days to complete a service-learning project with other students and their faculty. Chris is currently a senior at Birmingham Southern College. He traveled to Belize to discover something new but ended up discovering more of himself in the process.

What happens after your study abroad experience is over and you return home? How do you cope with all those feelings that are difficult for you to articulate? As a study abroad professional, how do you help your students answer these questions and all the others that arise with re-entry?

Dr. Cate Brubaker joins us for our second episode of the Toucan Abroad Podcast to share her knowledge and expertise on all things RE-ENTRY! She is the author of the Re-entry Roadmap workbook and the Study Abroad Re-entry Toolkit. Dr. Brubaker has lived in the US and Germany, worked and traveled in 36 countries on four continents, and helped all kinds of globetrotters successfully navigate global transitions.

In this first episode of the Toucan Abroad Podcast, our amazing alumna, Sara Burnosky chats with us about her experience as an intern for one month in Belize. Sara is a graduate of Michigan State University and is currently living and working in Honduras as a teacher.  

In the podcast, she delves into the challenges she faced throughout her time here and how this helped her to grow both personally and professionally. Her advice to those seeking to embark on their own life-changing study abroad journey is priceless.