Full name, age, degrees pursuing at Iowa?
My name is Ashli Cabrera. I am 21 years old, and pursuing a degree in Elementary Education at the University of Iowa. I am also receiving my reading endorsement, as well as my Certificate of Cultural Competency through the school of social work.
Why did you choose the degrees that you are pursuing?
When I first came to the University, I was pursuing a career in nursing, and after a year of debating, I thought that being an educator would be something completely different that I’d love doing every day of my life. Kids keep you on your toes, and each day with them is different than the day you had before. My passion really grew for teaching because of my interactions with kids, and because of the amazing professors we have here on campus. They really care about creating a sense of community and family in the College of Education, and want us to use those guidelines in our future classrooms.
Spring semester of my freshman year, I was recruited to join the Critical Cultural Competency Certificate through the School of Social Work by my Professor Motier Haskins. He challenged me to start on this journey to become aware of the world around me and to deepen my understanding of different cultures, practices, and opinions. Being involved in this Certificate Program has been an awesome ride—I’ve met some genuine people, listened to intelligent speakers, and have been able to process more about where I come from, what I believe, and push to understand where others come from as well.
What organizations are you affiliated with?
I am a part of a ministry on Campus called Cru, which works to reach college students for the Gospel. I’ve made some of my best friends through this group! I have also been involved with the College of Education’s Student Council, which helps make decisions with staff from the student perspective, as well as have the opportunity to talk to incoming students and their families about choosing Iowa as their home for the next 4 years, and pursuing a career in Education.
What is your hope for the future (jobwise)?
After student teaching and graduation, I hope to be teaching somewhere in Iowa. I haven’t fully committed to staying in the state, just because I would absolutely love to travel more, but I definitely see myself teaching for a long time. I think it’d be an amazing experience to take some time and teach abroad, which would give me an insight to different cultures and educational practices mixed together.
How did you come across the opportunity to go to India?
The opportunity to travel to India came up in my Cultural Competency course taught by Motier Haskins. He was going to be the professor taking a group of students, so he spoke about this in class, and it really sparked my interest. I was a part of the Sustainable Healthcare and Social Services for the Needy course during this trip. In this course I was able to choose from working with the disabled, elderly, sick, and blind. I had the opportunity to join historic preservation efforts and get hands-on experience at health clinics and hospitals. In this course we visited, participated with, and learned directly from several organizations, employing a diverse variety of techniques that addressed social problems such as: blindness, unemployment, poverty, healthcare for the poor, illiteracy, disabilities and conduct research in the areas of Indology, South Indian Society, history and culture. I had never thought India would’ve been a place of interest for me, but I’m so glad I went.
What were your apprehensions before traveling overseas?
I had never traveled overseas before this trip, so I had no idea what to expect. I was a little nervous about safety, knowing that women are told to be careful when traveling. I also knew that there was a possibility of getting sick while we were on the trip, which nobody wants to experience (sad to say it happened to half the group). I was also apprehensive about how communicating with people in India was going to be. In preparation for this emersion trip, we had group meetings throughout the fall semester in order to learn about the culture, the people and organizations we would be encountering and collaborating with, and bond as a team.
What people did you travel with (and why were they there)?
Most everyone that I traveled with was a student at the University and enrolled in the School of Social Work, which meant I was the only education major on this trip. The ages of people in our group varied and included different focus area—professors, undergrad students, master students, doctoral students, and parents!
How long did it last for?
The India Winterim was a three-week, field-based study abroad program from December 27, 2013-January 18, 2014 that us students with the opportunity to learn from and directly interact with leading social entrepreneurs, nonprofit organizations, and academic institutions within India’s diverse cultural, socioeconomic, and geographical mosaic.
Tell me about your major experiences while you were in India?
One of the most important parts of this studying experience was to create a “project plan”. The project plan included working with one of the host organizations to learn in detail about their operations, designing a project that will help improve the organization’s services or take the organization in a new direction, and develop a draft plan to implement our project before leaving the country. I worked with Satya School for Special Needs. Early Intervention Program caters to the needs of 75 children between the ages of 0-6 years with Special Needs. This program has the distinction of being the only specialized center in Pondicherry, providing rehabilitation services to children with special needs not only in the city of Pondicherry but all the neighboring districts. In the year 2013-14, as many as 25 children with special needs have been integrated into main stream schools. My small group and I were able to create phonic phones made out of PVC pipe to incorporate in their reading and speech therapy program. These were very useful for struggling readers, as they are able to read into the phone and have it fed back to them. (Picture included). These phones helped students with phonemic awareness, development of phonological processing pathways, and increasing proficiency in reading. It was awesome to present this idea to the founders of Satya and to have the administration implement it into their program.
How did traveling to India shape your life?
One cultural pattern that I observed was that there seems to be a sense of togetherness and harmony. Just like the traffic in India, even though it seems foreign and crazy to us Americans, it works or them and there is a mutual understanding within their culture—They all come together to try to move forward, amongst any differences they may have, and this is a beautiful thing that I think America, as well as any country, could use little more of.
I will hold this experience, that I was so very blessed to receive, and the people I shared it with close to my heart forever. The people, places, and things I encountered there turned this “trip” into a wonderful and unforgettable journey and experience that has shaped my life into something new. While trying to think of what I was going to miss most, I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I suppose that it would be this: India is full of hope, love, and has a sense of togetherness. I went on this trip to see what I could bring to help the people of India, but the people of India ended up helping me. Their lives are simply beautiful, and there is so much to learn from them.
What moment from the trip will you never forget?
One of the moments that I’ll never forget was a day that part of our group went to a small village in southern India. This was the first time that the people had EVER seen western faces. This woman sprinted out from the crowd towards our bus with such joy about her and the biggest smile I’ve ever seen, because she was so happy to meet us. She was running with her hand extended to shake ours. All of the people in her village followed and came to greet us before we moved further down the road. This was such a cool experience! How crazy is it to be a part of someone experiencing someone like us as Americans for the first time?
What are the biggest cultural differences?
A challenge our group faced in India was the language barrier. It was very difficult to not be understood, as well as not be able to understand someone else. We were able to overcome this by using some people who know English to translate for us, which has been helpful. I am thankful for my French that I have learned, so that in Pondicherry, I was able to understand parts of the language, as well as enjoy the French culture. It’s cool that those two experiences collide, and I was able to use what I’ve learned to enhance my experience in India. I thought it was also very fun and interesting to learn some words in Tamil while we were there.
Would you travel abroad again, why? And, where?
ABSOLUTELY! I’ve always dreamt of going to France, because I am fascinated by their culture. I also would love to see Spain, Ireland, and Italy.