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| Olivia Murphy-Sweet, 2016 Student Teacher |
Penn State was represented all over the world during the
week of spring break this year. Many Agriculture and Extension Education majors
spent their break helping others, learning about agriculture and being a
positive agent of change in a variety of places. Olivia Murphy-Sweet (@OSweetMurph)
was one of those students. Olivia, a member of the 2016 student teaching co-hort (#psuaged16) spent her spring break in Haiti with the Project Haiti Club. She helped out at
an orphanage in Hinche, and did work at a mission house and throughout the
community.
The orphanage was home to over 250 children who were without
places to live and without parents. Olivia and the other Penn State students
she traveled with, spent time with the children playing soccer, basketball,
cards and so much more! The trip was also a great educational experience for
Olivia. She got to spend time walking through the local markets in Hinche and
got to visit the oldest Catholic church in the western hemisphere.
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| Olivia spent time working at an orphanage in Haiti |
When they were not working at the orphanage, Olivia and her
fellow team members went to the neighboring village of Jacsonville. While there,
they worked to help build a mission house and clinic. Olivia stated, “I did
jobs such as moving over 100 logs for the clinic, moving rocks to help build a
foundation for a cement building, helping with the garden in a tree nursery,
and painted inside the mission house. It was nice to help out in the little
ways that I could!”
Her greatest take away from the trip was the interaction
with the people there and listening to what they had to say. One of the most
memorable moments was when the leader of the Mission work in Jacsonville told
her “You have to plan your dreams and then fight for them. The only one in your
ways is yourself.” Olivia said this
quote and the many experiences she had on the trip will benefit her future in
agriculture education because it “made me more aware of what is going on in the
world, helped me to realize how important international agriculture is, made me
think about more than just myself and pushed me to be that positive agent of
change!”
While the trip presented some challenges like not being able
to shower for a week and running into more rats and tarantulas then she had
planned on, Olivia would do it all again in a heartbeat and urges students to
take any opportunities they get to travel abroad. She said “I believe that
everyone needs to experience that people can survive without technology and
live on less. It’s great to see a world that is totally different from your
own. The life lessons you learn on these trips are countless and unforgettable.”
Student Blogger
2015 Student Teacher
@Its_LauraBeth
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