Austin Peay students transform lives in Jamaica through service-learning trip

China braids Megan Schneck's hair.

(Posted on Wednesday, April 19, 2023)

In May Pen, Jamaica, a tiny girl named China ventured from her elementary school down the street to Bustamante High School, a two-story, concrete building with open windows, intermittent power and water failures.

There, a woman who cleans Bustamante’s halls watches China until her mother can pick her up late in the afternoon.

Bustamante also is where China encountered Megan Schneck, an Austin Peay State University (APSU) education student who traveled to Jamaica for a week in January on a special service-learning, study abroad trip with several other APSU students and professors.

Every day as the Austin Peay students painted two classrooms at the school, China was near, sometimes upset that Schneck couldn’t play with her. On the last day, with the painting done, Schneck readied to return to the United States.

“She was so sad. She wouldn’t let go of me,” Schneck said. “She had my shirt. She was sobbing. She wanted me to come back.”

Stories like these will become core memories the students who made the trip will carry for the rest of their lives.

“I feel like you can say, ‘Oh, this country is going to be eye-opening and humbling,’ but once you’re there, you don’t realize how influential it is to get the other cultures and receive just love,” Alaina Chandler, another student on the trip, said. “I feel like the trip was so overwhelming in such an amazing way because we did so much – our days were jam-packed – and we got so many amazing, heartfelt memories.”

Some of the students washing up.

‘These things make you want to go back’

In early January, Dr. Jackie Vogel, chair of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Austin Peay, and Dr. Ben Ntatin, a professor of mathematics, took the students to Jamaica to observe and help Bustamante’s teachers. The students also painted classrooms and used a donation from retired mathematics professor Dr. Floyd Christian to buy a new toilet for the women’s restroom.

The experience was transformative for the students, who gained new perspectives and formed lasting connections during their time on the island. Four students – Schneck, Chandler, Alyssa Rangel and Mackenzie Carr, shared the following ways in which the trip transformed them:

• They developed a strong desire to experience different cultures and to see how people live in other parts of the world. On this trip, they immersed themselves in Jamaican culture (including making a Jamaica-style breakfast from scratch) to learn about the country’s history and interact with its people.
• They participated in meaningful service projects, such as painting schools and visiting a nursing home. These experiences gave them a sense of purpose and allowed them to contribute positively to the local community.
• They came away with a deep appreciation for the natural beauty of Jamaica, such as the beaches and waterfalls. They also enjoyed trying local cuisine and learning about Jamaican music and dance.
• The trip challenged them to step out of their comfort zones. They gained a new perspective on the world and their place in it, and they formed strong bonds with each other and with the Jamaican people they met.

“I just love seeing the way that people live, especially because we spent most of our time in ‘real Jamaica,’” Schneck said. “And then the last day we went to tourist Jamaica – and seeing the difference there.”

Recalling the effect that Scheck had on China – and how a boy reacted to getting a new backpack – Vogel said, “Those are the kinds of things that make you want to go back.”

Carr, left, and Rangel.

Inspired to give back

During the trip, Carr had an eye-opening experience that made her realize how much she took for granted.

“It opened my eyes to the little things that we take for granted here,” she said. “They aren’t as fortunate but when you see it for your own eyes how happy they are with what we would consider so little, it puts things into perspective.”

After she returned to Clarksville, Carr organized a school supply drive this semester for Brown’s Basic School in Clarendon, Jamaica.

“When I came back home, I felt so empowered to just give back and continue to give back to them because they were so grateful for everything that we did there,” she said.

She plans to go back and continue her philanthropic work.

Dr. Ben Ntatin.

‘Felt like going home’

This was Rangel’s second study-abroad trip to Jamaica. She went in 2019 after Dr. Samuel Jator, then chair of the mathematics department, developed the program with help from Dr. Marsha Lyle-Gonga, APSU political science professor and native of Jamaica. The trip is in partnership with the nonprofit Mission 418.

“You adventure outside of yourself and the culture that you’re used to,” said Rangel, who can trace some of her roots to Jamaica. “For me, in a way, it felt like going home.”

The program has a purely educational aspect as well, offering undergraduate students a study abroad opportunity to explore the Jamaican economy through a mathematical and political lens.

This year’s trip was from Jan. 7-14, but work started during the winter break, and continued after the students’ return. They could earn 3-6 credit hours and take courses such as MATH 1010 and MATH 490H (independent study/high-impact practice) focused on the Jamaican economy and culture, as well as POLS 451A (selected topics in political science).

The program is designed to build social capital and generate meaningful social interactions for both students and faculty.

Schneck is an education senior. Chandler is a nursing major. Rangel is a speech pathology senior. Carr is a mathematics senior.

For more information about study abroad opportunities, visit the Office of Study Abroad and International Exchange website.

Highlights from the trip

• Do you want to build a snowman: When the group visited Cross Elementary, a teacher asked one of the students to describe snow, and Vogel suggested he give a tutorial about building a snowman. “The students were captivated. He gets down and he’s explaining about how you roll it up, about how you don’t make it too big because you must stack three and then when you put this on top it’s very heavy,” Vogel said.
• Am I clean enough for a photo: Elaina Chandler donated a new backpack to Bustamante to give away to a deserving student. Vogel asked the school’s math chair, Cyprian Russell, to pick the student. On the last day that the Austin Peay group was at the school, they gave the backpack to a student who uses a wheelchair. While wiping at his shirt, the boy worried if he was clean enough for a photo commemorating the moment.
• Cheers for a new toilet: In an email to Christian, Vogel described spending $100 to replace the school’s 50-year-old women’s toilet. “I asked Mr. Russell, the math chair, what we could do with $100 to have the most impact. He said a new toilet for the female staff bathroom. It usually breaks by the end of the day, and they have to put buckets of water from the sink in it to flush it. So, we spent about another $100 on a toilet. There was much cheering when we delivered it!”

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