Metropolitan State’s tech com grad students to travel to Puerto Rico

-- Rachel Farnham

From February 23 through March 8, six Technical Communication graduate students from Metropolitan State University will trade their down coats for sun block as they head to the University of Puerto Rico. The week prior and week of spring break, the grad students will travel to Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico to complete their international communication service.  The trip, a first of its kind for Metropolitan State, is organized by Suzanne Walfoort and Craig Hanson.

"I am excited for Metro State to have this opportunity," says Walfoort, "Puerto Rico is a unique and beautiful bicultural location."

The graduate students will spend the first week at the University of Puerto Rico providing literacy tutoring for English Language Learners. The second week, students will participate in independent technical communication projects either at the University of Puerto Rico or elsewhere on the island. 

Ruth MacDonald, a Tech Com grad student, is ready to board a plane to Puerto Rico. "I have Spanish skills I want to use," said MacDonald, "Puerto Rico will be a perfect hands-on opportunity for me to experience the culture one-on-one." MacDonald aims to work her second week with a scientist at the University of Puerto Rico. Together with the scientist she hopes to develop online learning material to narrow the language gap. In the past MacDonald hosted international students and traveled to El Salvador, Mali, and New Zealand. This will be her first trip to Puerto Rico. 

Diane DeRosier Douglass will also travel to Puerto Rico and is looking forward to being removed from her ordinary surroundings. The trip to Puerto Rico will take some effort, says Douglass: "I have a lot of planning to do preparing for the trip, take time off of work and being away from home, but there will be plenty to do there."

The students have work ahead of them as they plan for this trip. Being trained in literacy tutoring, studying Spanish, and completing assigned reading are just part of the course requirements the students must complete before leaving. Ruth McDonald brushes up her Spanish by watching Spanish television. Another Spanish tool, Rosetta Stone (a sophisticated language tool) is available to all Metropolitan State students and can be accessed for free on the St. Paul Public Library ( http://www.sppl.org ) homepage. To register to use all that is needed is your library barcode. The language learning modules are free to use.] 

The trip to the University of Puerto Rico will expose Metro States students to a second culture and make them more aware of global economic issues as they complete their international projects. The students will also maintain a journal of their learning on the island. Upon their return they will share results of their independent projects in written reports as well as at an open symposium for the Communication, Writing and the Arts department.