Rebekah Rhodes
Beka Rhodes traveled to India this past summer! This trip will forever have a lasting impact on her life. She attended Christ university and was able to take 4 classes. Bollywood dance was one of the offered courses through which she was able to dance for the king of Mysore for her “final” in the class. She was also able to join the university volleyball team for the summer and meet amazing teammates that became her home away from home. After classes she visited a slum area and tutored children ages 3-14 years old. Through this experience she grew an immense love for each child and care for their future. She was able to make tons of friends in the country that she is ecstatic about seeing again in 2 years. When she wasn’t just going to class, playing volleyball, or tutoring, she was exploring the vast beauties held throughout her home city and in Delhi. Her passion for living in India in the future, to share The name of Jesus Christ has grown immensely. She knows the calling The Lord has on her life and she is beyond thrilled to continue this mission. This experience has changed her entire outlook on life, she sees more than busyness and success. She is living her life to glorify The Lord through exploring his marvelous creation and striving to share His good news with someone every single day! She has grown in her boldness and leadership abilities. She is ready to continue to venture out into the unknown, and see what the future holds and where she will go.
CEE Title: Myth Busters: Cracking the Cultural Code
The 2018 Vira I. Heinz scholarship recipients of Waynesburg University would like to present our Community Engagement Experience, Myth Busters: Cracking the Cultural Code. The CEE will focus on myths about the countries each five cohort members have traveled to, and dispelling the myth with the truth. The truth will consist of the actual facts about the myth in each country, as well as expand on the various other things that make each country so unique and beautiful. This event will consist of five workshops with the following titles; Amsterdam’s Not All Sex and Drugs (Megan Leiter), Politics Beyond the Princess (Tessa Masula, England), Botswana is not “Africa” (Samantha Bruffy), Women’s Rights Do Exist in Morocco (Sara Byler), and Education in India comes with a price (Rebekah Rhodes). Upon arrival of guests they were each broken into 5 groups which was done by handing a small card with a national flag of one of the five countries on it. There was a brief introduction at the beginning, then the guests were asked to go to the workshops with the respective flag that was on their card. Each workshop will have approximately 15 minutes to present to the guests. When presenting, the presenter focused on dispelling the myth about their country through statistics, readings, and real-life examples. The speaker might also incorporate the guests into the presentation by asking questions related to the topic or taking an online poll. The presenter was also responsible for talking about other amazing things within the country they traveled to. The presenter would end the presentation by relating their experience abroad with the experiences each have faced within the local community of Greene County. After the presentation, the guests rotated to the next four workshops and the process was repeated. The event was concluded by all five cohort members speaking to the group as a whole thanking each guest for their support, and inviting everyone downstairs for refreshments which was food from each of the countries the cohort members traveled to.