By Kistler Hunt
Students led by Dr. Greg McClure, professor in the Department of Learning, Teaching, and Curriculum, journeyed to Coban, Antigua, and Copal AA La Esperanza, Guatemala, June 5-15, 2023. In this course, students earned three semester hours of credits for HON 3515: Genocide, Resistance, and Sustainability. Copal AA La Esperanza is a multilingual and multiethnic indigenous community of Mam, Q’anjob’al, Q’eqchi’, and Quiche Maya. The community was founded by 86 refugee families in 1996, the final year of a Guatemalan Civil War.
Dr. McClure has worked with the Copal AA La Esperanza community since “1996, shortly after the community was founded. I worked as a human rights observer there during the last year of the Guatemalan Civil War.” His goal now, as he describes, is “To allow students to really experience things first-hand, providing background information and important cultural context to support their learning.”
The trip gave students the opportunity to meet with the local town council to learn about their customs, compare cultures with middle school students, take trips along the River Chixoy, and more. Honors College recent alumna Allie Tippin ’24, who graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in elementary education, highlighted that one of her favorite components of the trip was the bonding she was able to experience with other Honors students and local community members. She said, “To name just one of my favorite components of the trip, I loved the strong sense of community in Copal AA and within our delegation. At the beginning of our trip, we were all strangers, and yet, by the conclusion of our time in Guatemala, we had formed many lasting bonds. Within the delegation, we bonded over having similar moving experiences. Additionally, we got to know the people of Copal AA, hearing their sad and beautiful stories, oftentimes while sharing a meal, freshly prepared from the local land. Their generosity and hospitality were unmatched.”
Photos above feature (top) a gathering between students and the Mayan Women Weaver’s Collaborative, and (bottom) a group of students swimming in the River Chixoy. Photos submitted.
Tippin further explained,
“It’s difficult to articulate all that I gained from this trip because it was a truly profound and unique experience. It has changed the way I think about and approach a number of things, and I would do it all over again without hesitation… I was consistently blown away by their commitment to the earth, to education, and to each other. I hope to continue to incorporate some of their values in my own life as I go forward. I have walked away from Copal AA with new connections, new friends, new perspectives on education, the environment, and community, new growth, new knowledge, new challenges, and new goals.”
Top photo features students on the Honors College faculty-led study abroad trip: Genocide, Resistance, and Sustainability to Guatemala, summer 2023. Photo submitted.
