Grace Christiensen '24 and her study abroad cohort met with the Dalai Lama in India during the College's three-week term.
The students spent 17 days in India meeting with Tibetan refugees to learn more about their lives and cultures and to record their stories.
“It’s one thing to sit in a classroom and learn about refugees' experiences, but to go to where those refugees are, to live with them, learn their culture, eat with them and hear their stories, that to me is what study abroad is about.”
Fifteen Guilford students gained a greater understanding to the plight of Tibetan refugees by meeting with them in northern India and recording their stories over 17 days during the spring semester 3-week term.
The trip culminated with a personal meeting with the Dalai Lama, the foremost spiritual leader for Tibetan Buddhists in Dharmasala. The class presented him with a Guilford T-shirt and water bottle.
Grace Christensen ’24, one of the Principled Problem Solving Scholars who took part in Guilford’s study abroad class, calls the trip “life changing.”
“It’s impossible to come away from that class and not be impacted,” says Grace, who graduated with a degree in Psychology a few days after returning from the trip. She has participated in other study abroad experiences at Guilford, walking Spain’s Camino de Santiago two years ago and exploring the experiences of Mexican children in Oaxaca City, Mexico, last year.
“This (latest study abroad) was the most meaningful to me,” says Grace. “It’s one thing to sit in a classroom and learn about refugees' experiences, but to go to where those refugees are, to live with them, learn their culture, eat with them and hear their stories, that to me is what study abroad is about.”
Members of the interdisciplinary History and Principled Problem Solving class entitled Citizenship, Sovereignty and Tibetan Refugees in India spent the first 14 weeks of the semester exploring the conflict between Tibet and China and learning the stories of displaced Tibetans, who fled China to Dharamsala, in northern India, where an entire Tibetan government in exile has been set up.
Grace and her classmates interviewed refugees living in Greensboro during the spring semester to prepare them for their time in India. They interviewed more refugees during their trip to India. Those interviews will be uploaded to a website dedicated to refugee narratives later this summer.
The class was one of several study abroad programs Guilford students took part in over the 3-week term earlier in May.
Guilford encourages study abroad and experiential learning opportunities for its students. Recognizing the transformative power of global experiences, the College offers programs that enable students to enhance their academic pursuits while gaining valuable cultural and personal experiences.