Study Away/Abroad Engagement Experiences and BGSU’s Core Values

BGSU values and fosters these qualities in its students:

• Respect
• Cooperation
• Intellectual and Spiritual Growth
• Creative Imaginings
• Pride in a Job Well Done

Engagement Experiences promote the Core Values in-context as participants live, learn, and serve in communities throughout America. The Engagement Experiences embody a commitment to critical thinking about values and challenge students to put those values into action.

RESPECT

Because the Engagement Experiences address many topics, Engagement Experience classes represent a wide range of majors, ethnicities, and demographics. In reflection activities and collaborative projects, participants engage with each other and with community members, learning about each others’ skills and experiences. This equitable intercultural sharing exposes participants to the perspectives of others and fosters mutual respect.

COOPERATION

BGSU states that “true cooperation involves the creation of partnerships that transcend boundaries, including those created by cultures.” Engagement Experiences build bridges between members of many different communities by immersing participants in communities different from their own. Participants collaborate with members of host communities on service-learning projects that address community concerns.

Also, participants must cooperate with each other to live in an unfamiliar environment. They work together on community tasks such as cooking, cleaning, and coordinating projects. Participants learn each others’ talents and use them to improve the group experience.

INTELLECTUAL AND SPIRITUAL GROWTH

Intellectual growth is fostered on Engagement Experiences as participants gather information from their experiences, utilize critical thinking skills to evaluate what they have learned, and devise projects that integrate that knowledge into their own lives and communities. Talking circles, the method of reflection used during Engagement Experiences, foster communication skills and prompt participants to consider how they can apply what they have learned to their personal goals. In these discussions, participants analyze how they fit into the communities of which they are a part and how they might make a difference in those contexts.

CREATIVE IMAGININGS

On Engagement Experiences, participants engage in creative methods of reflection and evaluation, while also analyzing how creative projects can impact community issues. Participants visit organizations that have found creative ways to address social problems. They meet individuals who use art to express their culture, their challenges, and their triumphs. At the end of each trip, participants complete self-designed creative final projects that are used to evaluate their learning.

PRIDE IN A JOB WELL DONE

As participants develop a strong sense of community, they share pride in the growth achieved by each individual and by the community as a whole. As participants work with community members and each other to learn about the community, build critical thinking skills, and address community needs, they are empowered to take leadership roles in the communities of which they are a part. In this way, Engagement Experiences elucidate the power of an individual to create positive change in her or his community – and that is certainly something of which one can be proud.