University of Richmond Athletics
Spider Voices: My Spring Break Abroad
04/01/2019 | Women's Basketball, Spider Voices
By: Aniyah Carpenter, Freshman, Women's Basketball
I was fortunate to be a member of the new EnCompass Program at the University of Richmond with the opportunity to travel to Santiago, Chile over Spring Break just a few weeks ago. It was an amazing experience for me, and was better than anything I could have ever imagined. Being immersed in a culture other than my own for a week was exciting and eye opening. I'm in my first year studying Latin American Politics at Richmond, and the trip allowed me to learn something new every day I was abroad.
Dr. Jennifer Pribble, who was the trip lead, planned the trip so that we could hear opinions on different issues and how democracy has developed in Chile.
Dr. Pribble introduced us to very important people like Sergio Bitar, who served as the Minister of Mining under President Salvador Allende in 1973 and was detained under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. We learned about his work of traveling around the world and meeting with important figures of each country to talk about their transition into democracy.
We had lunch with two officials from Chile's current government, Director of Research Roberto Munita and Andres Villar Gertner from the Ministry of Defense. They talked to us about different governmental issues and how those issues are handled.
Dr. Pribble also took us to a local university to have joint classes with political science professors Diego Portales and Fernando Rosenblatt. We met with some of their students, who had differing opinions from those of the government officials that we had met with. It surprised me to hear them talk about their government the way they did. Each student was near my age, but I never met people who were so engaged and felt so strongly about politics.
The students knew what they were talking about and were able to back up each and every point raised. I took a lot from the students we met, especially the young woman who led a movement to raise awareness for gender equality in Chile.
This trip encouraged me to be more aware of the world around me and to be more involved when it comes to social change. Traveling to Chile was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me, and I am glad I had the chance to go and experience a different culture than my own.
I was fortunate to be a member of the new EnCompass Program at the University of Richmond with the opportunity to travel to Santiago, Chile over Spring Break just a few weeks ago. It was an amazing experience for me, and was better than anything I could have ever imagined. Being immersed in a culture other than my own for a week was exciting and eye opening. I'm in my first year studying Latin American Politics at Richmond, and the trip allowed me to learn something new every day I was abroad.
Dr. Jennifer Pribble, who was the trip lead, planned the trip so that we could hear opinions on different issues and how democracy has developed in Chile.
Dr. Pribble introduced us to very important people like Sergio Bitar, who served as the Minister of Mining under President Salvador Allende in 1973 and was detained under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. We learned about his work of traveling around the world and meeting with important figures of each country to talk about their transition into democracy.
We had lunch with two officials from Chile's current government, Director of Research Roberto Munita and Andres Villar Gertner from the Ministry of Defense. They talked to us about different governmental issues and how those issues are handled.
Dr. Pribble also took us to a local university to have joint classes with political science professors Diego Portales and Fernando Rosenblatt. We met with some of their students, who had differing opinions from those of the government officials that we had met with. It surprised me to hear them talk about their government the way they did. Each student was near my age, but I never met people who were so engaged and felt so strongly about politics.
The students knew what they were talking about and were able to back up each and every point raised. I took a lot from the students we met, especially the young woman who led a movement to raise awareness for gender equality in Chile.
This trip encouraged me to be more aware of the world around me and to be more involved when it comes to social change. Traveling to Chile was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me, and I am glad I had the chance to go and experience a different culture than my own.
Players Mentioned
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