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Expanding horizons
CEHD Alumni Showcase visits educational partners in Brazil
The University of Minnesota has a long history of collaboration with institutions in Brazil, particularly in education. Educators in both countries have been committed to efforts to address social inequalities. Sharing experiences of struggles and resistance, success and failure from two different contexts can benefit both communities, while also exchanging expertise and sharing resources.
CEHD has historically welcomed visiting scholars and students from Brazil, and in recent years, there have been more strategic efforts to establish sustainable collaboration with institutional Brazilian partners in the area of education.
For 10 days this past February, CEHD hosted an Alumni Showcase trip to the South American country, as Brazil’s rich history and culture presents an opportunity to learn unique approaches to social justice. In recent decades, Brazilian social movements have denounced the racial inequalities to which people of color are subjected, proposing the need for intervention in alleviating discriminatory practices. Indigenous communities have engaged in public demands that have resulted in significant gains in education. Still the struggle for visibility and access continues.
Eight individuals took part in the trip, including alumni Louellen Essex, Bo Thao-Urabe, Mary Tjosvold, Amy Tolbert, Christine Warren, and Belle Yaffe, as well as International Initiatives Director Marina Alexio and Chief Development Officer Susan Holter.
“Visiting international academic sites allows college donors to witness firsthand the global impact of their contributions and the meaningful work their support makes possible,” Holter says. “These experiences deepen their connection to our college mission and illustrate how their generosity fosters innovation, education, and cross-cultural collaboration worldwide.”
Essex (BS ’70, PhD ’79) says she is very grateful to Alexio for organizing the trip. “She has done so much for our students, our staff, and our partners,” she says. “It was a privilege to travel with her and a wonderful group of CEHD alumnae.”
Prior to the visit, the CEHD contingent met for several classes, read material, and completed assignments to help them prepare for the experience.
“The readings gave context to the culture—geography, economics, art, and history, as well as current educational challenges of the Brazilian people,” says Yaffe (BS ’70). “It was a great launching pad for visiting the country and understanding how we could help CEHD reach its goals.”
While in Brazil, the group visited Vitória, the capital city of Espírito Santo state. This is where CEHD has its main partner, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo (UFES), a free public university. “We have partnered with UFES since 2018 on various programs, including two separate faculty delegations, a faculty research collaboration, and visiting scholars programs, as well as sponsoring UFES students for graduate programs in CEHD, and a CEHD faculty residency program,” says Aleixo.
The CEHD delegation toured the campus and met with several faculty members and students. “The Brazilian students are earnest and sincere in wanting more contact with the U of M,” says Warren (BS ’71). “I talked closely with Lorenzo, a senior in engineering. He has built a ‘hot’ race car in class. This spring his car is entered to compete with other engineering schools throughout Brazil. I am so impressed with his expertise.”
Touring Jesus de Nazaré, a fishing community in Vitoria.
The CEHD group meets with Fordan (UFES partner), an organization working to eliminate violence against women.
Essex agrees. “Brazilian students are much more like our students than they are different,” she says. “They are curious, bright, and eager to chart a meaningful course in their lives. Their dreams are big and bold.”
Another stop in Espírito Santo was Aldeia Pau Brasil in Aracruz, a native Brazilian community/reservation for the Indigenous Tupinikim people. “We have partnered with them since 2019,” Alexio says. “We have collaborated on several projects and mobility programs, particularly with their school and community leaders.”
Visiting the various sites in Brazil and meeting with students had a profound impact on the CEHD group. “Once again, it supports the idea that experience from ‘boots on the ground’ is the most powerful learning experience,” says Tolbert (PhD ’90). “It was truly a life-changing experience for me. The connections made, the stories shared, the deep emotion it stirred in me gives me hope in the youth of the world.”
As it was such a positive experience, the desire is there for students to have similar opportunities for international travel. “My hope would be that more CEHD students could go to Brazil and the Brazilian students could in turn come to Minnesota,” says Essex. “We have similar challenges in our educational and social services work and have so much to learn from each other.”
Students need to broaden their perspectives, becoming more open-minded and empathetic toward how others think and live, Essex says. “Our world is interconnected, and we need to find new ways to collaborate, building a foundation of strong relationships,” she says. “That will only happen with educated young people who have a worldview.”
Tolbert agrees that unless we create more opportunities for all of us to expand our thinking and build personal relationships, we will become more individualistic, ethnocentric, and isolated. “This experience was instrumental in that,” she says. “We must develop a more global understanding of worldwide cultures, admit to the centuries of marginalization, and uphold demonstrated respect for humankind. We cannot continue to give permission for dividing disparities. This disparity does not build a safe and inclusive society. It divides, separates, and destroys. Travel is the best teacher. Let us consciously work together and join together as a people. Collaborate. Educate. Grow…together.”
All images courtesy of International Initiatives