Twenty Latin American students have been fully immersed in American culture since January 12, 2009, as participants in a U.S. Department of State-funded program at Saint Michael's College. Despite arriving in the coldest days of winter from the temperate climates of their home countries-Nicaragua and Panama-these students have been fully acclimated to the college and surrounding Vermont community.
"We've kept them very busy, and have learned from them as they have learned from us," said Christine Bauer-Ramazani, Saint Michael's instructor in applied linguistics. Instructor Bauer-Ramazani and Associate Professor, Dr. Daniel Evans, academic coordinators of the program, deemed it exceptionally successful so far, as measured by the response of the students and the campus community.
The program provides an eight-week academic English language course along with an intensive introduction to American society and culture. The larger purpose is to build relationships between the U.S. and the people of Central and South America, by improving the language skills of promising undergraduates thereby making them competitive in later graduate study in the U.S.
The students are working full time in Saint Michael's Applied Linguistics Department intensive English courses in reading, writing, grammar, oral skills, academic skills and service learning. At the same time, they have been absorbing American culture by with visiting Saint Michael's host families, making presentations in area public schools, chatting with conversation partners in Saint Michael's Spanish classes, and engaging in a tour of the Montpelier State House, a visit with Governor Douglas, attending Spanish Mass on campus, going to a contra dance and more.
The students showed their appreciation by entertaining their host families, and Saint Michael's faculty and staff with a program of songs and dances from their home countries held February 13th in the Hoehl Welcome Center. Their professors, Christine Bauer-Ramazani and Daniel Evans spoke, as did Saint Michael's President John Neuhauser, and each mentioned of the enrichment that these students have brought to Saint Michael's.
Two more groups of students arriving on campus in March & in the fall
These 20 students are on campus till March 6. A second group of Latin American students will be coming to Saint Michael's from Uruguay and Venezuela from March 23 to May 15, and a third group will be on campus for the first eight weeks of the fall semester. The first group of students will probably end up having endured the biggest culture shock of the three groups since they arrived in Vermont in mid-winter. But the Saint Michael's community warmed them up in many ways, starting with providing warm winter coats, jackets and boots, and followed with hats and scarves made by staff of the Saint Michael's applied linguistics department.
Saint Michael's alumnus, U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy was instrumental in helping the college get the State Department grant from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs that funds this program.
Saint Michael's College, founded in 1904 by the Society of St. Edmund and headed by President John J. Neuhauser, is identified by the Princeton Review as one of the nation's Best 368 Colleges. A liberal arts, residential, Catholic college, Saint Michael's is located just outside of Burlington, Vermont, one of America's top college towns and less than two hours from Montreal. As one of only 270 institutions nationwide with a prestigious Phi Beta Kappa chapter on campus, Saint Michael's has 2,000 full-time undergraduate students, some 500 graduate students and 200 international students. In recent years Saint Michael's students and professors have received Rhodes, Woodrow Wilson, Guggenheim, Fulbright, National Science Foundation and other grants, and Saint Michael's professors have been named Vermont Professor of the Year in four of the last eight years. The college is currently listed as one of the nation's Best Liberal Arts Colleges in the 2009 U.S. News & World Report rankings.
Photo caption: Latin American students demonstrate song & dance for their Saint Michael's professors and friends.
- Photo by Brian MacDonald