Jan Kauffman and Kristin Waltner received a message two weeks ago that came as a surprise: Duane and Karen Stoltzfus said that they needed to withdraw from their roles as Study-Service Term faculty leaders in Ecuador to focus on a personal health crisis. Kauffman, associate dean of student success, and Waltner, registrar, accepted the offer to lead the Ecuador SST for the 2026 trip. “I visited Ecuador over the summer and loved it — the people, culture, diverse landscape, and variety of activities. The country offers so much, and the people are so warm and open,” said Waltner. The two...

By May Boudreau • November 13, 2025 • News John Eash-Scott • November 13, 2025 • News

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,...

By Ben Koop • November 14, 2024 • News

Last Wednesday, 15 students departed for their Study Service Term in Quito, Ecuador. On Jan. 25, 10 more students will head to Philadelphia as part of an adapted cross cultural experience focused on immersion in Indonesian culture both in the United States and abroad.  Both groups have been forced to adapt to changes posed by the ever-evolving coronavirus.   The prevalence of the virus became apparent for the group heading to Ecuador when test shortages and changed airplane schedules threatened to affect their travel plans.   Even as the students boarded their first flight toward Quito, there was still uncertainty about their...

By Sarah Miller • January 20, 2022 • News

Two weeks ago, the arrival of six Goshen College students in Ecuador, marked the return of Goshen’s international Study-Service Term program after a year and a half.  The group made an early departure from Goshen on Aug. 31. Besides a minor complication with one student’s visa which delayed her entrance into the country for a few days, the trip is running smoothly and the students are steering clear of COVID-19.   “Ecuador made international news for the dire situation they faced early on in the pandemic,” said Caleb Longenecker Fox, one of the leaders of the unit.  Since then, over half...

By Amelia Witmer-Rich • September 16, 2021 • News

A little over two months ago, Caleb and Nina Longenecker Fox left the United States for Ecuador. As leaders of the upcoming Study-Service Term units, there is a lot to accomplish before the students arrive in the fall. Caleb and Nina Longenecker Fox have been excited about this opportunity for a while.  Caleb Longenecker Fox went to Nicaragua for SST when he was a student at Goshen and has been interested in leading SST ever since. The pair have always wanted to live abroad for a more extended period of time. With this in mind, Caleb Longenecker Fox said that...

By Jackson Steinmetz • March 18, 2021 • Features

Jerrell Ross Richer, professor of economics, and his family have spent the last six years living in the Amazon region in Ecuador from January through June.  With no cure for the coronavirus, Jerrell, Jane, his wife, and their two youngest children Terresa and Jordan were not able to venture to Ecuador this year.  During Ross Richer’s six years in Ecuador, they have created beautiful relationships with the Indigenous people of Zabalo and Tena.  They have created what they call a “two-way” method, in part, coming from the fact that they are traveling back and forth between North and South America,...

By Gabriella Klopfenstein • January 28, 2021 • Features

“I wanted to make something that truly reflects the wonders of SST.” And after spending three months abroad, third-year film production major, Eric Miller, did just that after being inspired to create a two-part documentary conveying his memorable trip to Ecuador. “I remember before embarking on this journey, I knew next to nothing about what you actually do on SST,” Miller said. “There were some videos, but it’s mostly just people talking about it, rather than showing it.”  Titled ‘El Refugio de Ecuador’, Miller’s first documentary captures the chaos that ensued as the coronavirus swept across the globe.  The third...

By Record • January 21, 2021 • Features

As classes began last Wednesday on campus, 38 Goshen College students embarked on an intercultural journey as the spring 2020 Study-Service Term units departed. 17 students made the trek to Tanzania, while 21 departed for Ecuador.  This semester’s unit marks only the second group Goshen College has sent to Ecuador following the switch from Peru. As with the fall semester, the group is led by Andrew Hartzler, professor of accounting, and his wife Ruth. The unit in Ecuador partners with the Cofan Survival Fund, which is a carbon-offsetting partnership. After leading a fall unit of only six students, Hartzler recognizes...

By Siana Emery • January 31, 2020 • News

The students in Goshen College’s first Ecuador Study-Service Term unit entered their fourth week in adjusted service locations on Monday, sent as a group to the coast after protests rocked the country for two weeks in October. The six students were set to head off to different parts of the country to stay with host families for the second half of SST. Four students were scheduled to go to two different communities in the highlands before transportation strikes froze travel and isolated rural communities. Last week, Andrew and Ruth Hartzler, SST leaders, and Jan Shetler, director of international education at...

By Gabe Miller • November 6, 2019 • Features

Only months before leaving on SST, six Goshen College students learned that they would go to Ecuador, not Peru. The transition brings sadness and concern, as well as joy and new opportunities to past and future SST students. Logistical issues with visas and banking were the main reasons for the change, according to Jan Shetler, director of international education. While the SST program in Peru had a greater emphasis on sustainability studies and cultural differences, the program in Ecuador allows for a greater focus on Indigenous cultures and their struggles for equality, she said. Jerrell Ross Richer, professor of economics,...

By Record • September 5, 2019 • Features

After 14 years, 37 units and over 600 students, this summer’s Study-Service Term in Peru will be the last for the country. Instead, beginning with the fall 2019 unit, Ecuador will become the South American location, making it the 25th country to be part of the SST program. The decision was first announced to students on Tuesday evening at a meeting with the fall unit. By the end of the night, all those signed up for Peru SST for the 2019-2020 school year had heard the news. Tom Meyers, current director of international education, explained that the decision had been...

By Megan Bower • March 27, 2019 • News

One might expect to become a collector of stories if they live half of their life in another country each year. Goshen College Economics professor Jerrell Ross Richer is one such man. Jerrell, his wife Jane, and their four children, Sierra, Naomi, Teresa and Jordan have spent three years living half of each year in Ecuador. The family works with Mennonite Mission Network and lives in the eastern rainforest region with indigenous people and works the Ecuadorian Mennonite church. Richer and his family are in Goshen for now, but plan to head back to Ecuador by late December. The Ross...

By Olivia Copsey • October 12, 2017 • Features

Three Goshen College students, first-years Josh Schirch and Petra Showalter, and sophomore Seth Kurtz, spent the last ten months in Ecuador serving with Mennonite Mission Network. While all three of these students were ready for a gap year, they each had different perspectives going into the term.   high school, Schirch wanted to take a year off where he could do something other than schoolwork. After one year already completed at Goshen College, Kurtz was ready to explore the world beyond Goshen. Showalter had siblings who had all previously taken a gap year and she saw firsthand the benefits that...

By Pamela Ortiz • October 12, 2017 • Features

Summer typically means a break from school, but for Campus Pastor Tamara Shantz, this past summer was her chance to be a student again. Shantz applied for a faculty grant from the Center for Intercultural Teaching and Learning that would allow her to study Spanish in Ecuador for four weeks. Shantz traveled to Quito, the capital city of Ecuador, to attend classes at Simon Bolivar, a school for international students who want to learn Spanish. She studied one-on-one with a teacher for four hours every morning, giving her plenty of time to explore on her own and take advantage of...

By Anna Ruth • September 16, 2009 • Features