Two weeks of class—and a trip to remember.
From June 30-July 14, Perimeter College students traveled to Jamaica to learn about the country, have fun--and give back through volunteering.
This is the fifth year the college has participated in a service-learning project in Jamaica, which combines class time with community outreach in schools with underserved populations.
The study abroad program, started by DeKalb County community leaders Carolyn and Earl Glenn in 2012, is led by Dr. Nicolette Rose, an English professor at Georgia State University’s Perimeter College.
“Perimeter College students are registered to take two classes (at Perimeter) and work two weeks during a summer camp at Watford Hill Primary School in Hanover, Jamaica,” Rose says.
“Our class time actually started two weeks early here at the Clarkston Campus, before we got to Jamaica,” Rose says. “When we arrived, our students volunteered at Watford, working with 65 students in grades one through six. They helped the students review reading, writing and math in the mornings. Their afternoons also were filled with activities with the young students--they ran chess tournaments, physical education events and arts and crafts projects.
In addition to working with the younger students, Perimeter students took weekend excursions and participated in activities as part of their study abroad experience, Rose says.
The students' studies and trip wrapped up at the end of the summer semester. Rose and Perimeter College students recently presented a slide show of their trip during a meeting with the Georgia State Perimeter Board of Visitors.