#studentleader

My name is Lynnea Lee and I am a sophomore at UWEC. I have always wanted to study abroad! After looking into different programs at Eau Claire, I decided that I wanted to go on the Guatemala trip. I chose Guatemala because it was during winter break, two weeks long, the most affordable, and I really wanted to go to a Latin country. This program also focused on really getting yourself immersed in the culture and service learning; this program was basically perfect! I am so glad that I chose this program because I had such an amazing experience.

For the first few days of the trip, we stayed with a non-profit organization called De La Gente. They work with small-holder, local coffee farmers and cooperatives in Guatemala. They help improve the quality of life for families and communities by giving economic opportunities. They create direct connections with the buyers and farmers. Usually, farmers get paid the least out of everyone (exporters, shippers, roasters, and retailers). De la Gente is able to cut out the “middle-men” and allows the farmers to get paid more. The money is no longer split up and now goes directly to the farmer. This improves their income. They also help the cooperatives with farming techniques, financial stuff, etc. Another thing that De la Gente has are community tours (such as a coffee tour) and group trips (which is what we went on). These tours and trips they host allows the community to improve their income and also allows travelers (like us) to get to know Guatemala, the people, and the culture better.

During our first few days with De la Gente, we explored Antigua, worked with coffee farmers, hiked an active volcano, and got to do artisan workshops. Antigua is such a bright, beautiful place. We visited some ruins and Cerro La Cruz. It was also fun working with the coffee farmers. We got to learn about farming, pick some coffee on their farms, and learn how to grind and roast coffee. You don’t realize how much work gets put into producing coffee until you actually experience it firsthand. They hire some people to help on their farms. These people usually pick for 8 hours a day and pick about 100-150 pounds and get paid 60 quetzals ($8) for the day. It also takes 3 years for a coffee plant to start harvesting. We also ate lunch at the coffee farmer’s house. We had a delicious meal and got to converse with his family. 

We also hiked Pacaya, an active volcano. It took us about 4 hours total. You could either ride a horse up or hike. We all decided to hike and got walking sticks for 10 quetzals (about $1). We ate lunch on the volcano and also roasted marshmallows from the hot lava that was beneath some of the cooled lava. There was also a lava store located on the side of the volcano that sold jewelry made out of lava! The view and whole experience was spectacular!

After our hike, we got to choose from three different artisan workshops. We could either learn how to make peanut butter, make coffee burlap bags (which I chose to do), or make a huipil bag (a bright bag made from traditional Guatemala woven fabrics). This was a great experience because we got to meet more local families and learn about their work.

We then went to San Lucas Tolimán and worked with the San Lucas Mission there. We stayed at a hotel down the street from the mission. San Lucas Mission has made a clinic, school, and a women’s center in the community. They also do construction projects (building homes or stoves) for people who live around the area. During our time here, we explored San Lucas and built stoves/homes.

We then did homestays where we stayed with ex-guerillas. They formed a community in Santa Anita called “Santa Anita la Unión”. They formed this community after the 36-year civil war between the people vs the government. The community has 32 families, two schools, a daycare center, a library, and a pharmacy. They all also grow bananas and coffee. During our time here, we got to know the families, did agricultural work, and also hiked to a waterfall. This experience allowed us to get closer to the community and understand more about the war.

We stayed with our host families for three days, two nights. After our time here, we went back to San Miguel Escobar to the De la Gente guesthouse. We only had a few days left. We did another workshop where we prepared the national dish, went to the market to get ingredients for one of our dinners, and did more coffee related things. We also went to Guatemala City to look at the dump. It is home to the largest dump in Central America, bringing in around 500 pounds of trash each day. People work in these dumps and take the trash home to repurpose or sell it. NONE of the trash is separated. All the hospital trash, chemical trash, recyclables, all go into the same trash and are brought to this dump. This is a poor quality of life because they are being exposed to so many hazardous things while working in this dump. It was really sad to see. We toured with Safe Passage which “brings hope, education, and opportunity to the children and families making their lives around the City’s garbage dump”. They have three education centers for children and for parents. They educate more than 500 children and more than 100 adults. I really suggest you look up Safe Passage to learn more! They are a great organization.  

Our last night, we celebrated Ginny and Rachel’s birthdays! We ate delicious cake and all hung out. It was sad to leave Guatemala because it really was becoming home to me. I learned so much through my experience and truly felt like I grew as a person. All of the people in my group were amazing. This trip was so great because it wasn’t the typical tourist vacation.  I really got to immerse myself in the culture and learn so many people from Guatemala. I highly suggest you all study abroad- somehow, someway. I know money can be tight but try to find a way. I was able to win a scholarship that covered half of my trip expenses – this trip ended up costing me only $500 to go on! The $500 covered the flight, housing, and all of the meals. All of the meals were home-cooked, too! Look for scholarships, fundraise, do something. Later in life, you may have the money to go abroad but you might not have the time. We have so much time to explore right now – so take advantage!

Imagine that you are the captain at sea on "The Titanic" in the year 1912. You're navigating a large ship with a small rudder through the raging waters. Your only hope of surviving is to AVOID an iceberg is steering the ship back to its destination.

The plot twist is - your OWN ship will NOT capsize in your life. This book will teach you how to steer right.

Metaphorically, the ship is your OWN life. The raging waters at sea is everyday life

- college life specifically. The small rudder that steers the ship to your destination safely are your OWN words. From narrowing in on your vision to discovering your passion and purpose, to building your own support system, "Empower The Hero Within" teaches you how to become an excellent student leader. Not just a student leader that excels academically, but one that excels in all areas of life. This book highlights lessons that follows you from college into the real world.

In this case, you do not have to be an actual student - and if you're trying to navigate a new environment, trying to find your place, or just simply open to learning new things, you ARE a student of life.

A student leader once sat in my office in tears, afraid of joining a BGLO because of something they saw online. Every fear they expressed came from second hand information.

I did not begin with answers. I began with questions.

What have you heard Who told you Have you spoken to actual members What do you want your college experience to look like

As we talked, the truth became clear. Their fear had roots in rumor, not reality. Once they met real members and advisors, their decision shifted from anxiety to clarity.

This is one of the reasons I wrote Sacred Not Sinful. People deserve clarity, not confusion.

Learn more at www.sacredgreeks.com Download the Sacred Greeks Life App at www.sacredgreekslife.com

Reflection Question: How much of your fear is built on hearsay, not lived experience

We have a great selection & many can be personalised.

తెలుగు జాతికే గర్వకారణమైన నేతగా ఖ్యాతి గడించిన 'వెంకయ్య నాయుడు

It goes without saying that the world we live in today is unrecognizable from 20 years, 5 years, or even one year ago. The ongoing pandemic (wear a mask mask 😷 please) has changed every aspect of our world as we know it but one thing was greatly effected. The graduations. Each graduating senior had worked for anywhere from 12-16 years of their life to have a ceremony to commemorate their hard work. In my situation I was the graduation walk coordinator, as well as a speaker that would be present on the stage of our 20,000 person arena that was in the center of our city and was a major landmark for all of the students in the valley. Not only was this physical place a memory for everyone that was in my school, but for seniors all around and in different stages of their education, graduation marked a turning point in their lives, and when the pandemic hit, that was all taken away in a snap.

After this time when we all processed the grief behind the loss of our planned graduation we realized that we would not have the typical graduation, but one that has never been seen before. With this realization, our regalia became even more important to this experience because in this case, we had no place to hold our memories of graduation, but rather items. These items for me included color-coded cords for my clubs and achievements, a stole for my academic rank and leadership status, a gown fitted to me perfectly, and of course a custom designed cap.