Overview
What is this study abroad program about?
It’s about You! Do you like a challenge? This could be the hardest study abroad that you’ll ever love. You’ll work hard and be proud of the results. Do you work well on your own? You will live and work in a village separate from other MSU students and perhaps without daily supervision from your mentor. Are you ready for the ‘real world’? You will work with professionals, community volunteers, and your mentor to complete a project that your community is depending on. Are you ready to change the lives of others and to be changed yourself?
It’s about Ireland! What is it like to be Irish? What does it mean to have great craic? How does it feel to live in a village (500 people) that is a significant distance from nearby villages? How do the land, history, and religion influence the way of life in rural Ireland? How are rural communities in Ireland managing the transition from a predominantly agrarian society to a globally competitive one? Come to County Mayo, Ireland to find your own answers to these questions.
It’s about Community! What does “community” mean to you? What is your definition of “community development”? What makes rural communities work? How do you engage community members in the process of community development? How do you use your skills to complete a successful community project? Join us in this unique study abroad—spend your time overseas serving the community where you live.
Is this Program For You?
Community Engagement in Rural Ireland, a 5 ½ -week study abroad experience, is intended for students who are mature—capable of living on their own with a family and working on their own in a community. You should be curious, open to evolving experiences, and self-motivated. You should be interested in engaging with community members and committed to making a difference in others’ lives.
Click here to read what past participants say about the program.
MSU Sponsoring Units
Community Engagement in Rural Ireland is co-sponsored by:
The Tochar Valley Rural Community Network, County Mayo, Ireland
and MSU Partners including:
The Liberty Hyde Bailey Scholars Program
The Community, Agriculture, Recreation, and Resources Studies Department
The Fisheries and Wildlife Department
MSU Extension—Barry County
The College of Agriculture & Natural Resources
The College of Social Science
This study abroad program is arranged by MSU’s Office of Study Abroad.
This website is supported by Dr. Paul Roberts, Director of Overseas
Study Programs for the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Michigan
State University. Please direct any questions or comments about the website
to robertsh@msu.edu.
On cross-cultural learning
Cross-cultural learning isn’t something you can learn about in a
book, or from listening to other people talk about other cultures. I think for
real cross-cultural learning to take place, a person has to have first-hand
experience with another culture, and really have the chance to interact with
the people of that culture, as we did during our time in Ireland.
~Erin Hansen, 2004 participant
Actually living the life of an Irish family, even if only for five weeks,
allowed us to learn “accidentally” about Irish culture. By that
I mean that we had real-life experiences and become more aware of things by
living them and by doing things, rather than sitting down in a lecture hall
and expecting to “learn” something.
~Erin Hansen, 2004 participant
So it was by eating, sleeping, doing, and breathing Ireland that we were
able to actually do some serious cross-cultural learning.
~Erin Hansen, 2004 participant.
Through the Irish people, I’ve learned to value good conversation.
Much like the article we read at school, dialogue seems to be a lost art here
in the U.S. Everyone is so busy with their own lives that we lose touch with
people and avoid having real meaningful conversation. That is not the case in
Ireland and I’ve learned that I’d really like to improve my conversational
skills.
~Laura Rodgers, 2004 participant
On community engagement
When I signed up for the program, I honestly thought, “Community
Development for some small town Rural Ireland, how hard can it be? As it turns
out, it can be pretty difficult. From what I now understand, community development
is a community taking action to create, promote, and maintain a healthy and
desirable living space for themselves, visitors, and future residents…some
communities need to do community development projects in order to prevent decline
in vitals such as population and economy. Other communities need to participate
in development projects in order to keep the expansion of their community under
control.
~Hannah Remtema, 2004 participant
The idea of autonomous community development entails members of a community
being fed up with the way things are and refuse to depend on others for their
well-being. As a result, the community takes the initiative to enhance the standard
of living from a bottom-up approach. Through dedication and organization, a
community comes together and focuses on what is needed in the community and
possible strategies to accomplish their goals. This independent method of community
enhancement serves as several benefits to the community…
~Anthony Howell, 2004 participant
On the community projects
Being proud of who you are and where you come from is an asset to your
community.
~Renee Worthing, 2004 participant
I know I could never teach these students as much as they have all taught
me.
~Erin Hansen, 2004 participant
Somehow, through the mixture of seasoned professionals and gung-ho community
members, we came up with a park design that will hopefully both get funded and
accepted by the community.
~Hannah Remtema, 2004 participant
Our project is, in the best of both worlds. It’s helping to preserve
the past by ensuring the Dry Canal is not destroyed or built over by new developments.
In addition, if the park is dedicated as we suggested, ti will exist as a memorial
to those who built the canal during the family years.
~Hannah Remtema, 2004 participant
The tourist map was also a way of Partry saying it would like to move forward
a bit, while at the same time realizing that its past would be an important
in this step. In undertaking this project, Partry wants to become more accessible
to visitors by merging the past and the present. This is an important theme.
~Adrianne Sloat, 2004 participant
On personal growth
I realize that you can only gain as much knowledge as you are willing to
receive.
~Renee Worthing, 2004 participant
Being away from the everyday rush of life in America gave me a chance to
be part of another culture as well as the time to reflect on what I was doing
and to better learn from my experiences by giving me the opportunity to write
about and question all the things I was experiencing. This was truly a once
in a lifetime opportunity and I am extremely fortunate and thankful that I was
given the chance to learn so much about myself and about the world.
~Erin Hansen, 2004 participant
Just the experience of being in a new culture was a personal challenge.
There was little contact with home or friends. It was a new place with new people,
no privacy, and I was completely reliant on this family that I had just met
for everything from food to transportation….Generally speaking, I am not
one ot ask favors or rely on others to go out of their way to help me out, but
there really was no other option. That was definitely a learning experience.
~ Laura Rodgers, 2004 participant
Going to Ireland I was able to see more than what I anticipated. I was
able to learn about family in another perspective apart from my family and how
I was raised. I became knowledgeable about birds and wildflowers, two subjects
that I haven’t received a lot of information about especially in respect
to identification. Through this newfound knowledge, I find myself becoming more
interested in birds and flowers. One thing I didn’t expect was to see
how school is conducted in Ireland and an interest in teaching, specifically
outdoor education. These experiences I could never replace and it give me gratitude
in going to Ireland and working with this particular program.
~Letecia Villareal, 2004 participant
