By Brittany K. Ludwig, Director of Academic Advising - Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business
In Academic Advising, it can be easy to neglect experiential learning. As someone who’s worked in the advising field for more than ten years, I find myself getting caught up in the daily routine of keeping students on-track for graduation by checking off boxes and relying on the comfort (read: laziness) of transactional advising. When I agreed to participate in the Saint Louis University Chaifetz School of Business Belize Immersion in March 2023, I was ready to mix up the mundane a little bit. In preparation for the trip, I focused on my self-defined role as an administrator and support to my colleague, Dr. Ben Smyth. Let’s get them there, keep them safe, get them home… that was my vision of my duty to my fellow travelers. After months of planning, a few pre-trip meetings, and a very long day of travel, we safely and sleepily arrived in Punta Gorda.
Of course, the students were destined to participate in plenty of learning experiences. Ben’s planning as well as his connections to and communication with Belizean community partners well assured this fact. They had things to do, people to meet, and projects to complete. Although less tangible, but equally impactful and more organic, is the cognitive and personal growth of those who’ve experienced international immersion. In my experience, I felt like a newborn giraffe – I stumbled a bit, and my eyes were newly opened, but I learned very quickly how to stand, then, with gentle guidance, how to run and survive.
These students, by contrast, had eyes that were already partially opened, and they were significantly less maladroit than me on my first international trip. Many of these students are part of the Chaifetz School’s Service Leadership program and are advised, by Dr. Smyth, on community engagement, social change, and ethical leadership. As a result, their international competency and cultural humility was evident in their interactions with the people of the Punta Gorda community.
I was pleasantly surprised that these students were focused on engaging in genuine conversations, as equals, with community members - their questions were not contrived or condescending. These students were not as interested in Instagram photos as they were eager for cultural connections. The economic differences were obvious – the students saw poverty among these people. In those same faces, they also saw bliss, resilience, character, playfulness, and courage. At the end of each day, Ben and I took time for reflection conversations and/or examens with the students. A recurring theme that the students noticed was the joyfulness of the Belizean people. In recognition of challenging circumstances of the community, the peoples’ venerable spirits and unshaken faith were well absorbed by all of us.
These students WORKED. They were hot, they were sweaty… The end-of-day, not air-conditioned van rides on the unmistakable Belizean rural roads were, I will politely say, “fragrant.” The first leg of the trip was labor-intensive (literally). The students worked on cacao and turmeric farms and built a wall at St. Benedict’s Catholic School. They labored with the same joy they saw each day in the faces they met, modeling the behavior of the locals of Punta Gorda without complaint. The second leg of the trip was geared toward business education.
The students spoke with entrepreneurs, suppliers, manufacturers, and farmers. They learned about finance and capital generation, personnel, supply chain management, and marketing. Generally, Saint Louis University Business students are well-versed in these themes from freshman year, but their encounters are limited to urban, industrialized areas. In Belize, these students were able to focus on sustainability and business in developing countries, which was eye-opening for all of us.
In reflection, the students especially appreciated the prominence of women leaders in a few of the businesses we visited. Cacao Junapú, which is largely managed by husband-and-wife team Andrea and Martin Ack, was a highlight for the students. They learned about cacao production in Belize from bean to bar as well as the cultural significance of cacao to the Maya people. We visited Naledo the next day and met the founder/owner, Umeeda Switlo, a woman who is simply larger than life – an entrepreneur, refugee, widow, mother, and teacher. Her captivating story silenced our characteristically chatty group as they hung on every word of her spoken autobiography.
Storytelling is clearly central to Belizeans, even in their business management. The farms, companies, and factories we visited were grounded in rich cultural narratives, deeply important to all members of each organization.
On the whole, my professional perspective on academics shifted significantly on this trip. As a higher education administrator, I learned that experiences like these are the heart of academics and transactional advising (“take this class, not that class”) is no longer part of my daily practice. As I watched the students dance, laugh, engage, and connect with a culture, it reminded me of why I started working in higher education – seeing them grow and discover is truly exhilarating for me.
The students saw me as an educator, and I learned quickly that I was not there to tell them “This is how to fill out your customs form” and “Let’s get through security without hassle.” Through this immersion, I feel rejuvenated, and my Imposter Syndrome has taken a back seat – I brought valuable perspectives and conversations and I felt like I belonged on the trip before too long.
Professional development aside, I fell in love with this place and the people in it. The soul of the community is embedded in a rich cultural history that I am ashamed to admit that I had not previously explored before my involvement in this trip. From an academic perspective, I was enthralled by the anthropological history of Belize; but I am so grateful to have also experienced the unambiguous sensations of love, community, and, as our students noted so astutely, joy.
