It may be winter in Uruguay but activity is heating up again this summer at Casa ACU in Montevideo, one of the international hub sites for ACU Study Abroad.
Dr. Cynthia (Barton ’81) Powell and Dr. Lynette (Blackburn ’85) Austin are there with 13 students until early July, studying global health systems. Cynthia writes that students are “shadowing” physicians several hours each week at Hospital de Clinicas and Escuela Roosevelt, in addition to their classes and learning Spanish.
You can follow the group’s activities on a blog Cynthia is developing to document their experiences.
Those enrolled in the Global Healthcare for Pre-Health Students program are earning 6-9 credit hours each while living and learning at Casa ACU, a residential facility adjacent to the El Chana Church of Christ in Montevideo. Cynthia is assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry who also is the advisor for pre-health students and an internationally respected expert for her research using mobile devices in chemistry classes and labs. Lynette is assistant professor of communication sciences and disorders.
ACU has other international hub sites in England (Oxford) and Germany (Leipzig), where students and professors can be found studying year-round. Other faculty-led trips take students to places around the world such as China and Australia through a coordinated program in the Center for International Education designed to broaden students’ horizons and enrich their academic experience.
Later this month, six College of Business Administration professors are leading COBA classes on trips overseas. Dr. Ian Shepherd and Dr. Darryl Jinkerson are taking students to Sydney and Brisbane, Australia, while Dr. Brent Reeves (’82) and Dr. Phil Vardiman are headed to China. In July, Dr. Andy Little (’97) and Dr. Jim Litton (’01) are leading a trip to Honduras where they will partner with Mission Lazarus and focus on social entrepreneurship.