Global Citizens Project Scholar

The Global Citizens Project Scholars is an Education Abroad program, in collaboration with the Honors College that provides resources and increases access to a global experience for NAU undergraduate students who may not otherwise have the opportunity to go abroad. Selected participants of the Global Citizens Project Scholars will participate in leadership workshops, engage in the local and global community, and study abroad for 12 days in Ecuador on an NAU-Led program during spring semester for 1.00 credit.

Global Citizens Project Scholar Application – Spring 2023
Deadline November 1, 2022

Information Session:

October 18th at 5:00pm in the Honors College!

Eligibility:

*An undergraduate Honors student or a First Generation NAU student
*Have never traveled abroad (border travel does not disqualify)
*Demonstrate financial need (receive a Pell grant or am Pell eligible)
*In good standing with the university (academic and student conduct)
*Have completed at least one semester at NAU with a 3.30 GPA or higher
*18 years or older at the time of application

NAU defines first-generation students are individuals where neither parent(s) nor guardian(s) graduated with a Bachelor’s (4-year) degree

The opportunity:

Selected NAU Scholars will attend a 1.00 credit HON 408 or SA 408 course during the 2nd 8 Week (S8B) session of the Spring 2023 session, focusing on the following topics:

  1. Identity and global citizenship
  2. Rural communities
  3. Language and culture
  4. Responsible volunteerism/service and public health
  5. Safety abroad – Pre-Departure

The Scholars will then go abroad May 13 – May 26, 2023 to the Parango and Oyambarillo communities, just outside of Quito, Ecuador. Program service-learning activities (subject to change) may include:

  • Understanding culture: Agriculture in Ecuador
    • Small scale agriculture farming
      • Clearing land, preparing soil, fertilizing, planting, weeding and harvesting
  • Understanding culture: Farming in Ecuador – a focus on animals
    • Feed, maintain stalls/coops, collect manure and milk cows (also working with chickens, guinea pigs, cows, goats or sheep).
  • Understanding culture: Community and Education in Ecuador
    • Preparing educational activities for the local children to support an interest or major of the Scholar. This activity will allow the Scholar to show leadership in an international setting.  Activities can include (but are not limited to): English language, personal hygiene, family abuse, taking care of water, nutrition, music, or art activities. These activities will be discussed during the pre-workshops to support student success.
    • Meeting locals and understanding the operations of the Otavalo Community market. Students may engage with the community and ask questions such as:
      • Where are the products made?
      • Do vendors and residents  have to travel far to arrive at the market?
      • How does the money earned support vendors’ families?
  • Understanding Landscape: Environment and Terrain in Ecuador
    • Trekking the mountainside, identifying landscape
    • Learning about sustainable tourism
  • Understanding Culture: Food of the Countryside
    • Making cheese, sweet pumpkin juice, empanadas, and a custom Ecuadorian Christmas dessert
    • Learning about trout farming
    • Having a traditional Quechua lunch (including guinea pig)

The Honors College will loan each student a basic digital camera for the out-of-country portion of the trip. As part of the program, each student will contribute a photo and brief text about that photo to include in a Shutterfly book that we create about the program. The photos submitted will be used for the book and social media content for promotion and development of this program.

Cost:

Selected participants in the Global Citizen Project Scholar program will be charged $750.00 (billed to LOUIE account upon acceptance), and any personal spending money.

*For those selected Honors Scholars who do not yet have a passport, the Honors College has received a generous gift from a donor to cover the cost of a passport for students participating on this program. Honors Scholars will apply for their passport, provide a receipt to Angelina.Palumbo@nau.edu, and will be reimbursed the $150 fee.

Accommodations and meals:

Students will be staying in A frame cabins, 4 to a room with shared bathroom. A central meeting room with kitchen will be used for day to day activities and meals. Three meals per day will be provided. Meal accommodations can be met with prior notice.

Language requirement:

There is no language requirement to apply for this program.

About the host:

Casa Cielo (which means ‘House in the Sky’ in Spanish) allows students to live in the Ecuadorian mountainside and become neighbors with a community of local farmers to develop new global skills to prepare you for your next chapter after college. What will your daily routine look like? Open your glamping tent’s door and wake up to breathtaking views of 5 volcanoes surrounding the valley below the farm. Experience handmade bread and exotic fruits for breakfast every day, pack your lunch, and volunteer and learn with/from the community (they are also looking forward to learning from your culture). Later in the night, return to Casa Cielo for evening activities such as, sitting at the dinner table with leaders of the community, empowering the community through workshops, or simply relaxing in the field after a long day hiking in the mountains.

Check out last year’s GCP project!