I don’t remember exactly when I first heard about ICADS. It was sometime in the late 1980s, shortly after ICADS was founded. I was working on my PhD dissertation on the Central American Peace Process at the University of Massachusetts–Amherst, and a contact I had in Amherst shared a flyer with me on an exciting new study abroad program in Costa Rica. I was especially interested in the new program because the country itself has such a rich history of promoting regional peace and the President of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias Sánchez, had played such a key role in the Central American peace process that culminated in the 1987 Esquipulas Peace Agreement. Notably, President Arias won the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize for his diplomatic efforts. He went on to create the Fundación Arias (Arias Foundation) and continue to advocate for regional peace as well as environmental justice in Costa Rica and in the world more broadly.
I brought that ICADS flyer with me to my new job at Eckerd College in 1989. When I had the chance to travel to Costa Rica the next summer for interviews for my research, not only was I able to interview President Arias, I also arranged to meet with the then-Director of ICADS, Sandra Kinghorn, to learn more about its programs for my students. Sandy was very welcoming and informative; she even helped put me in touch with some additional fruitful leads in San José for my research. After that visit, l was convinced that ICADS was a fabulous opportunity for students interested in both study abroad and social justice in Central America. I began to tell my students about ICADS, and soon we were sending Eckerd College students to participate in ICADS semester programs.
Before long and as word of ICADS spread on campus, the College’s Global Education Office set up a formal partnership with ICADS, making it even easier for our students to study in Costa Rica and earn Eckerd College credit for their ICADS coursework without a lot of transfer-of-credits red tape. Our students could even continue to use their financial aid package for their tuition costs! But best of all, our students got an amazing immersion experience and learned valuable lessons about sustainable and just development in Central America.
The beauty of ICADS’ approach is its holistic focus on teaching our students about social and environmental justice issues in Central America. ICADS semester programs empower students to integrate economic, social, cultural, and political knowledge as well as language training and specially curated internship projects. That knowledge also helps them understand how history matters, how the most effective development work is bottom-up and community-based, and how personal connections and respect for others are keys to building a more just world. Over the years, we have sent countless Environmental Studies majors, International Relations majors, Political Science majors, Spanish majors, and more to ICADS. Every student has returned with a profound appreciation for their immersion experience and has raved about their courses, their projects, their host families, the community partners that ICADS is connected to, and the wonderfully supportive staff at ICADS.
Costa Rica continues to be a country that values peace, social justice, and sustainable development. It’s a beautiful and safe place for our students to study abroad. I continue to tell my students about ICADS, and we are always glad to see Director Antonio Chamberlain when he comes to Eckerd to visit. I am proud that I helped play a role in connecting Eckerd College and Eckerd students with ICADS over the last 36 years, and I trust the College will continue to send our students to ICADS for many years into the future.
Thank you to Mary K Meyer McAleese, Ph.D, Professor of Political Science of Eckerd College, for contributing this piece for our Partner Spotlight!
