Social Work and Education students partner to serve St. Lucia

For many college students, the brief respite between the spring and summer semesters is a time of rest and relaxation. But for three students from Temple University Harrisburg, the break provided an opportunity to take knowledge gained in the classroom and use it to serve others.

Megan Flinchbaugh, Christina Reardon and Dennis Reardon were among a group of volunteers who recently traveled to the Caribbean island of St. Lucia. There, they implemented antipoverty and social development projects in Vieux Fort, a town on the southern tip of the country. Megan Flinchbaugh and Christina Reardon are Master of Social Work students, and Dennis Reardon graduated with a Master of Education degree in May. This marked the third time social work students from TUH have visited St. Lucia, and the first time an education student joined the trip.

Dennis Reardon spent much of his time at Vieux Fort Infant School and Vieux Fort Primary School, using his education expertise and writing skills to assist students and teachers. The social work students met with community leaders to learn about the island´s approach to issues such as eldercare, literacy and public health. The students also experienced St. Lucian culture by visiting a banana plantation, sampling local food and engaging the community in Bruceville, a particularly poor neighborhood in Vieux Fort.

In addition, the group distributed donated supplies to children and families in Vieux Fort. These supplies included books, toothbrushes, school supplies, clothing and athletic equipment.
For the MSW students, the trip provided an excellent chance to gain knowledge of another culture and to hear directly from St. Lucians how social workers could fight poverty and other social ills affecting the country.

“For me, the trip was a very humbling experience. It reminded me that even with training and education, we – as social workers or educators – do not have all the answers,” said Flinchbaugh, who also teaches Spanish at a high school in Lancaster County. “There is so much we can learn from the people we are hoping to serve.”

Dennis Reardon also gained a new perspective from the trip. "From teaching in another country to observing St. Lucian teachers at work to interviewing an education leader there about various issues, the trip gave me several rich experiences,” he said. “I also developed a greater understanding of and empathy for people living in incredible poverty.”

The TUH students were joined on the trip by former Temple students, a graduate of Dickinson College and a graduate student at Villanova University. Pennsylvania schools, businesses and nonprofit organizations supported the trip.

Two faculty members of Temple´s School of Social Administration led and organized the trip: Ron Hollm, LSW, and Dave Zanis, PhD.

TUH students and faculty will continue to work in St. Lucia during trips scheduled for January and May 2010. The program is expected to expand to offer many new opportunities for students, including the chance to research public health issues that contribute to poverty within St. Lucia´s population.

“Temple students should definitely consider going abroad, whether it be to St. Lucia or elsewhere,” said Christina Reardon. “The trip gave me a global perspective that I know will serve me well, no matter where my career takes me.”

For more information about the St. Lucia trips, visit www.temple.edu/socialwork/International or e-mail Ron Hollm at rhollm@temple.edu.