The College of Education, Health and Human Services (EHHS) is offering an education abroad opportunity for students to support Global Deaf Awareness in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, for summer 2016.

Kent State, in partnership with San Miguel School for Special Education, will engage in teaching life skills as well as special education for the students from the ages of three to 55. The 10-day program is open to all students following the completion of the Intro to Deaf Studies course.

Karen Kritzer, an associate professor within the Deaf Education program at Kent State, said this trip is a significant program for students, who are interested in advancing in the educational field, to take.

“It gives them the opportunity to see what it’s like to be deaf in another country,” Kritzer said. “It’s very different in other countries than it is in the United States.”

Kritzer said the study abroad experience exposes students to the differences between the United States and Mexico.

Kritzer said there are little to no teaching facilities for students with learning disabilities in San Miguel de Allende. Having the students there to train the teachers would be beneficial to the San Miguel School for Special Education.

“For the school… it gives them the opportunity to have people who have training in deaf education come work with them a little bit,” Kritzer said. “We’ll be modeling how to teach, which is something they don’t have a lot of experience with there.”

Kritzer said she hopes the students are able to impact the institution during their short stay. She said she wants to continue to support the fairly new school by strengthening their foundation.

“I’d like us to be able to raise funds to support the school. They run completely on volunteer money,” Kritzer said. “I’d like us to be able to bring over school supplies. (I) hope we can keep things going that is mutually beneficial for them and for us.”

The trip will also introduce students to Mexican sign language in addition to letting them tour the country and visit ancient landmarks throughout Mexico.

The estimated cost of the trip is $1,216 and will include airfare, ground transportation, housing, overseas medical insurance, instructor fees, program fees, incidentals and food.

The students willl stay in San Miguel School for Special Education’s visitors facility. When they return, students are required to present a recap of their time spent in San Miguel de Allende.

Rose Onders, senior secretary in the Center for International and Intercultural Education (CIIE), said the trip is paid for over a span of monthly payments. She said there are also scholarship opportunities in CIIE, namely the Ten Thousand Villages scholarship fundraiser, where the funds are allocated for students.

For additional information regarding the EHHS’s study abroad opportunities, visit Center for International & Intercultural Education.

Contact Toni Hunt at [email protected].