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• B Y D A R R I A N M C C L E L L A N ’ 1 6 •
wenty-one members of the Lycoming
College community spent two weeks
in May in the Dominican Republic as the
culmination of a course in globalization.
During the spring semester, students
attended class to learn about the
Dominican Republic as a part of the larger
international system, participated in team-
building activities and discussed what
to expect while in the Dominican. The
class was part of the college’s model to
encourage service-learning experiences.
“This trip increased the passion I have
for community service and has truly made
me a citizen of the world, not just a citizen
of the United States of America,” said
Zach Murphy ’14, of Montgomery, N.Y.
Highlights of the trip included two large
projects that were created and facilitated
by the group. The first project was the
construction of an orchard. The class
bought more than 1,200 fruit trees and
1,000 hardwood trees and successfully
planted 450 of them before they left.
The second project was a trip to the
mountaintop community of El Naranjito,
in an effort to aid the impoverished
community by connecting it with small
businesses in the United States, such as
Alabaster Coffee Roaster and Tea Co.
in Williamsport. This is an ongoing
relationship that they plan to continue.
The team also participated in many
smaller projects, such as two food
outreaches during which 350 bags of
food were provided to two communities,
and one medical outreach in which 708
people were assisted. This gave native
Dominicans much-needed access to
doctors, dentists, counselors, barbers,
clothing and food. They also helped in
the restoration of a park and distributed
baseball equipment that was donated by
Little League International.
“My most meaningful experience
involved a medical outreach,” said N.J.
Stanley, Ph.D., associate professor and
chair of theatre. “We traveled to a small
village called Peralta and assisted a
team of dentists and doctors who had
volunteered their time to help people in
need of medical care. Several students
and I were assigned to assist two dentists
working in a classroom who mostly pulled
teeth for almost five hours. I was struck
by how brave the people were. My heart
ached for them.”
The main purpose of the trip was to give
back to the community through service,
but that did not stop them from enjoying
their surroundings as well.
“The experience was so physically and
sometimes emotionally tiring that we
just needed a break for some fun,” said
Jonathan Williamson, Ph.D., chair and
assistant professor of political science. In
its free time, the group traveled to beaches,
the local farmers market or spent the night
dancing away with their new Dominican
friends.
“I took 16 wonderful students on this
trip, and I saw them become 16 inspiring
people,” said Caroline Payne, Ph.D.,
assistant professor of political science,
who taught the course. “They learned
to work together as a group and come
together as one in times of need.”
For the trip, Payne partnered with
the nonprofit organization Advancing
Communities by Educating and
Serving, which was founded in 2005 in
Williamsport and does regular outreach in
the Dominican Republic.
Participants included Murphy, seniors
Katelyn Conway, of Palmyra, N.J.; Luke
Dohrman, of Huntingtown, Md.; Maralee
Fye, of Bellefonte; Matiana Gallegos, of
Denver, Colo.; Matthew Ruth, of Seven
Valleys; Katherine Wrona, of Arnold;
and Andrew Yetzer, of Ridgway; juniors
Anders Apiolaza, of Allentown; Sarah
Beddingfield, of Colorado City, Texas;
Shannon Sheridan, of Danville; and Holly
Worth, of Linden; and sophomores Joshua
Evans, of Toms River, N.J., and Amanda
Ferster, of Sunbury. Drew Tompkins
’13, of Montgomery, and Anna Tietzel, a
Fulbright language teaching assistant, also
attended.
Payne was accompanied by Stanley;
Williamson and his wife, Jessica; Jeffrey
LeCrone, Lycoming’s campus minister;
and Linell Stabler, president of ACES
North America.
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LYCOMING COLLEGE 2013 SUMMER MAGAZINE
Jonathan Williamson, assistant professor of
political science, works on material for a new
playground.