This past week, a group of eight Ecuadorian student delegates from Rumiñahui University as well as current Ecuador Study Service Term coordinator Kléver Guevara, visited Goshen College and experienced a six-day immersion in the environment of GC and the City of Goshen.

Both Guevara and the students were hosted by various community members, GC faculty and families and experienced a full schedule of local activities.

Among the events that the group participated in was a welcome lunch with President Becky Stoltzfus, visits to several on-campus classes, meetings with several student groups including the Latino Student Union, the Black Student Union, One Circle as well as Gilberto Pérez Jr., vice president of student life, and meals with past and future SST students. 

Additionally, the group ventured off campus for an afternoon at Merry Lea and a dinner with Goshen Mayor Gina Leichty, hosted by Cyneatha Millsaps, executive director of the center for community engagement. 

Camila Pérez-Diener, a junior art education major, attended a presentation of reception and gratitude for the delegation and Guevara’s work. “[GC] has always been hosted in a different country so seeing how much work to plan all the events and find host families and stuff for people has been really eye-opening,” Pérez-Diener said, “It’s not hard to appreciate all the work that everybody else has done.” 

Pérez-Diener also noted how important it was for former SST students to reunite with Guevara who served as their coordinator for their term in Ecuador: “Being able to connect with him here in town was really special for a lot of students.” 

Andrew Hartzler, professor of accounting and former Ecuador SST leader, also emphasized Guevara’s presence for former students. He said, “It’s been so cool to see students, get to interact with him, reconnect with him, because he’s just great with students.”

Hartzler also spoke to Guevara’s key presence as a coordinator, describing him as an “integral” part of the program. Hartzler hosted Guevara at his home for the duration of the visit and described his personal relationship with Guevara that he had developed. “I’ve spent tons and tons of time with him, so him being here at our home, with us, is awesome. I mean, he feels like part of our family,” Hartzler said.

Jerrell Ross Richer, co-chair of the Global Engagement office, continued, “Rumiñahui University, like almost all of our global partners, treat us really well, like over-the-top hospitality.” Ross Richer made it clear that although the desire for this delegation visit was persistent, there are often barriers that prevent students such as those from Rumiñahui University from venturing to Goshen as SST students do to distant countries, including inabilities to get visas as well as the financial strain of travel and tuition. 

“But they persisted,” said Ross Richer, “Cristóbal [Garza González] reached out to me in my role as co-director of global engagement … and we thought, okay, yeah, we can. We could host these people for a short visit.”

In explaining the significance of visits like these, Ross Richer said, “The idea of it was that we are trying to reciprocate, and that’s kind of the operative term … reciprocity means that you’re in a relationship, and you do things for each other in a way that has dignity and balance … in the past, we’ve always been the partner with the money, and we’re the ones that can afford the flights, we get the visas, and we come with a lot of privilege.”

 “People in places like Ecuador, Indonesia, Tanzania, a couple dozen other countries, have received us graciously … and have often asked the question ‘so, when can we come to visit you?’” 

In a similar spirit, Garza González reinforced Ross Richer’s message of human connection and reciprocity with an experience from the visit: “When I asked several of the members what impressed them the most … I thought they were going to say, ‘oh, you know, the serious ceremonial stuff, or the campus,’ and they say ‘the people,’” Garza González said, “that’s the true value of something like this, the connection that we build with people.”