My name is Bella Gasaway, and I have just completed my study abroad program in Belize over spring break 2024. I’d love to take a moment to express just how amazing and enriching my study abroad experience was for me.

To give you some context, the focus of my program was community engagement and service learning. This meant that, through acts of service and interactions with the local community, I was able to get a clear view of what it means to uplift a community without taking a savior complex and experience life firsthand for a Belizean student. Throughout our week, my classmates and I volunteered at the Santa Elena Primary School, a Catholic school that holds children from ages 4–14. I spent my week in a Standard One classroom, which housed children ages 7–9. We spent the whole week learning how to add and subtract, read special phonics, and the stations of the cross. I got to know each of my 21 students personally and was able to make special connections with that group of students that I hope will stay strong even years from now.

I am truly not exaggerating when I say that my service learning changed my life, both academically and personally. As a student, I learned how to better connect with the work I need to complete. If I can actively engage in my schoolwork (much like how my students did, through activities and connections to their personal life), I can grow as a student and find further success in my academics. Through my personal life, my service learning has made me much more aware of the luxuries I have in my life that I take for granted. For example, I never truly realized how lucky I was to have access to clean water and fresh food every day; for many Belizeans, these are difficult commodities to come by. Knowing that I have nearly constant access to these necessities (whereas others don’t) has made me all the more appreciative of the life that I have, and it has encouraged me to share more of my luxuries with the less fortunate.

In addition to how my service learning impacted my life, I also feel that my cultural activities deeply impacted my life as well. I spent my free time in Belize exploring cultural heritage sites, such as Xunantunich and Cahal Pech, both Mayan ruins in the area, as well as practice embroidery, pottery, and tortilla making at the Maya co-op. As a history buff, I was incredibly interested to visit and immerse myself in the Mayan culture and architecture. The temples I got to climb and the artifacts I got to
examine provided me with such a fulfilling and enriching experience. It’s one thing to read about the Mayans; to actually be walking on their roads, passing through their doorways, and making their food is an entirely different story. Without those unique cultural experiences, I don’t think I would have walked away from Belize without a newfound appreciation for my roots and the culture of others.

I would absolutely recommend this program to any student that is interested in studying abroad– even for just a short time. I walked away from this program with lasting connections to MSU professors and faculty, new friends, and a profound love and appreciation for new cultures. I never thought that studying community engagement and service learning could not only being so interesting, but also so rewarding to the student and creating relationships that will last a lifetime.

If anyone is even considering studying abroad, this should be their sign to apply and take the leap: you definitely won’t forget it.

Name: Bella Gasaway
Status: Junior
Major: Journalism
Hometown: Ludington, Michigan
Program: Community Engagement, Society and Culture in Belize