Europe

OSU: University Honors College Service Learning in Romania

Europe

Program Administrator:

OSU

Country:

Romania

Host Institution:

This program is a partnership between OSU and Habitat for Humanity International

Location:

Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Duration:

Summer

Language:

English

Class Format:

Classes Primarily with US Students

Housing:

Other

Requirement:

Participants must be enrolled in the University Honors College

Participants must take HC 407 International Service-Learning colloquia in the fall, winter or spring terms before participating in the summer service program.This course will discuss service-learning and help students prepare for the experience. All students who plan to participate in the service trip must complete one of these colloquia and are encouraged to take two or three.

Description of the 3 courses:

HC 407 International Service-Learning #1, Initiating

1 credit colloquium

***Meets Weekly for 50 minutes

Instructor: Dave Kovac

As an introduction to international service-learning, students will initiate the development of a service project in Cluj, Romania in partnership with Habitat for Humanity International. We will learn about the challenges of international NGO/non-profit work, specifically how Habitat for Humanity has created a successful and sustainable model for mobilizing volunteers to help build simple, decent shelter for families in need around the world.

In this course students will create initial project plans while researching the need and impact of service work in developing Transylvania/Romania. In addition to developing preliminary itineraries and budgets as part of a project proposal, this class will help students create a cultural context for the work to be done while strategizing for individual funding and fundraising options to support the project. Students who plan to participate in the summer trip are strongly encouraged to take this colloquium.

HC 407 International Service-Learning #2, Developing

1 credit colloquium

***Meets Weekly for 50 minutes

Instructor: Dave Kovac

This second course in the International Service-Learning series may be taken individually or as part of a sequence. In this course we focus on the hows and whys of international service learning by examining what makes for a profound social impact. We'll examine the circumstances and issues of poverty housing in the region and look at the potential personal and social impact that can be achieved for families when stable housing needs are addressed. We will assess the sustainability of this type of project, as well as study the predicted effects of service on participants like ourselves.

We'll also learn of effective methods to "spread-the-word" through group fundraising campaigns and awareness-building via social media and within our own community. We will review and adjust initial trip plans, develop trip/project contingencies, review traveler health and safety advice, and prepare required travel documentation for international service.

HC 407 International Service-Learning #3, Delivering

1 credit colloquia

***Meets Weekly for 50 minutes

Instructor: Dave Kovac

This course will focus on pre-trip travel logistics, cultural considerations, and our own group dynamics as we prepare for the upcoming immersion experience in Cluj, Romania.

Students will review, adjust, and reconfirm evolving project plans, travel arrangements, and documentation; research and share important discoveries concerning socio-cultural conditions in the destination community; study teambuilding and group dynamics via contributorship development; and determine how service-learning is different from volunteerism or voluntourism.

OSU Study Abroad Program Deadlines

Mandatory Application Checklist:

OSU UHC International Service Learning Application Checklist

Program Contact:

Lillian Read

Program Details:

The University Honors College will offer a unique International Service-Learning opportunity culminating in a trip with Habitat for Humanity building homes and hope in Cluj–Napoca (Cluj), Romania. Students who take this trip can earn up to three HC 406 project credits. In advance of this trip, the UHC will offer a series of HC 407 International Service-Learning colloquia in the fall, winter, and spring terms that will discuss service-learning and help students prepare for the experience. All students who plan to participate in the service trip must complete one of these colloquia and are encouraged to take two or three.

This course series is designed to engage students in initiating, developing, delivering, and experiencing a summer international service-learning project.

Student will experience the unique social, political, historical, environmental, economic, and cultural diversity of the Transylvanian region of Romania, where medieval life meets modern times. Besides its natural beauty and rich mixture of Roman, Hungarian, and Germanic cultural influences, the country also bears the scars of a rocky transition to a free market economy. Their many years under a tight-fisted dictatorship have kept them years (some think centuries) behind their European Union neighbors.

This is an intensive overseas experience of over 100 contact hours as part of a Habitat for Humanity Global Village project. Participants eat, sleep, work, and play in the community being served. Seventy percent of our time will be directly engaged in the project and 30% devoted to cultural and team activities. On the way to the project site, we'll visit Habitat for Humanity's Europe/Central Asia offices in Bratislava and learn about the challenges of meeting the diverse service needs throughout a region that stretches from Portugal to Kyrgyzstan.

There is no experience necessary to participate outside of a sense of humor, a good deal of curiosity, and a willingness to remain flexible.

Projected dates of trip: June 20 - July 5, 2013

Program Costs:

Tuition will vary between majors.

CLA Majors:

Program Fee: $2,100 - Paid Directly by participant to Habitiat for Humanity

Tuition (2 credits of HC 488): $370 - Charged to OSU Student Accounts after June 15

Airfare (estimate): $1,400 - Paid Directly by participant

Insurance: $30 - Charged to OSU Student Accounts after June 1

Personal expenses (estimate): $50 - Paid Directly by participant

Total Cost Estimate: $3,950

COB Majors:

Program Fee: $2,100 - Paid Directly by participant to Habitiat for Humanity

Tuition (2 credits of HC 488): $404 - Charged to OSU Student Accounts after June 15

Airfare (estimate): $1,400 - Paid Directly by participant

Insurance: $30 - Charged to OSU Student Accounts after June 1

Personal expenses (estimate): $50 - Paid Directly by participant

Total Cost Estimate: $3,984

Pre-Engineering Majors:

Program Fee: $2,100 - Paid Directly by participant to Habitiat for Humanity

Tuition (2 credits of HC 488): $438 - Charged to OSU Student Accounts after June 15

Airfare (estimate): $1,400 - Paid Directly by participant

Insurance: $30 - Charged to OSU Student Accounts after June 1

Personal expenses (estimate): $50 - Paid Directly by participant

Total Cost Estimate: $4,018

Prof-Engineering Majors:

Program Fee: $2,100 - Paid Directly by participant to Habitiat for Humanity

Tuition (2 credits of HC 488): $472 - Charged to OSU Student Accounts after June 15

Airfare (estimate): $1,400 - Paid Directly by participant

Insurance: $30 - Charged to OSU Student Accounts after June 1

Personal expenses (estimate): $50 - Paid Directly by participant

Total Cost Estimate: $4,052

Forestry Majors:

Program Fee: $2,100 - Paid Directly by participant to Habitiat for Humanity

Tuition (2 credits of HC 488): $390 - Charged to OSU Student Accounts after June 15

Airfare (estimate): $1,400 - Paid Directly by participant

Insurance: $30 - Charged to OSU Student Accounts after June 1

Personal expenses (estimate): $50 - Paid Directly by participant

Total Cost Estimate: $3,970

PHHS Majors:

Program Fee: $2,100 - Paid Directly by participant to Habitiat for Humanity

Tuition (2 credits of HC 488): $390 - Charged to OSU Student Accounts after June 15

Airfare (estimate): $1,400 - Paid Directly by participant

Insurance: $30 - Charged to OSU Student Accounts after June 1

Personal expenses (estimate): $50 - Paid Directly by participant

Total Cost Estimate: $3,970

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OSU: University Honors College Service Learning in Romania

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