University of South Carolina
Donaldson Conserve, PhD (Health, Promotion, Education and Behavior) | Colombia, South America1/31/2020 As a global health researcher, I have been traveling to Tanzania and Haiti frequently in the past few years. I have been enjoying the opportunity of collaborating with the local scientists and learning more about the contexts in both countries. Last year I became interested in exploring opportunities to take students to Tanzania and Haiti. However, I had no formal experience in organizing global health research opportunities for students. With this in mind, the opportunity to join Dr. William Pruitt on the 2019 International Perspective on Higher Education (IPHE) trip to Colombia came at a perfect time. I expected that the IPHE trip would offer me a chance to gain experience in traveling with a group compared to traveling alone as I have done in the past. I was also looking forward to learn about the process of establishing partnerships with universities in comparison to individual professors.
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I really became aware of Colombia when I met Jose and Claudia back in 2001 in Richmond Va just months after moving back to the states after 10 years in Spain. I had gotten a job as a legal aid helping with a new immigration push by Busch to legalize illegals. Mostly Mexican. They however were looking for asylum after his uncle was murdered in the street in Bogota and threats came in against his whole family. 9/11 then hit, the firm dissolved when the attorney was called into active duty and I moved to SC. Then 17 years later I get to go see what they were talking about, the beauty of the country and its people juxtaposed with a brutal past Thank goodness things have improved drastically, though much still needs to be done. My friends have not been able to go back yet.
I traveled to Colombia for the first time in November, and I did not expect to have the opportunity to travel there again so soon. Colombia, not Columbia, an amazing country and having the chance to return allowed me to begin to feel a level of familiarity and connection, while continuously experiencing and learning new things.
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