Field studies students travel the world

Thursday, November 28, 2013

Rachel holding hands with Zambian children in a circle
For Rachel, the past year involved many new crazy and stretching cultural experiences. Even just taking public transportation every day became a funny anecdote, between being squished into a minibus like sardines, being pecked by a chicken the entire way home from work, creating a make shift window out of an umbrella to protect passengers from getting wet during a monsoon, and not being entirely sure if the bus was dropping her off at the right destination. These are just some of the crazy things that can happen on a PACS field study.

Rachel, along with 7 other Peace and Conflict Studies students, decided to gain some real world experience this past year through pursuing a field study credit. She obtained a placement in Lusaka, Zambia through Mennonite Central Committee's (MCC) Serving and Learning Together (SALT) Program, where she worked for 11 months as a peace clubs coordinator and managed after school peace club programs. 

Through her field study experience, Rachel not only learned how to apply her learning to a real world environment and grew as a person, but she also faced challenges being the only white person or "mazungu" in a densely populated city. As Rachel recounts,

It sometimes felt like there was a spotlight shining on me that I couldn't turn off for an entire year. You eventually develop some self-defense tactics to make yourself more resilient towards harassment, and learn how to joke around with people who are just genuinely curious about you.

Stephanie with group from women's centre
Field studies don't have to be done far from home; one student decided to work at the Halton Women's Centre in Oakville, Ontario. Stephanie wanted to work at the women's centre and gain some practical work experience to determine if doing a masters in social work was the right career path for her.

A typical day for Stephanie included doing research for an environmental scan of the Halton Region, which was her main project. She also helped run a clothing sale for the centre to raise money to fund their programs. When the centre was open, it was busy with many women coming in for counseling and information.

Stephanie found her field study to be an overall positive experience, saying that 

The Centre was a really positive environment for people working there and for those coming to the Centre for assistance. I met some great people throughout these four months who were really helpful in my journey of trying to figure out what I want to do with my life after graduation. 

Stephanie and Rachel were two of the many field studies students have taken advantage of the Peace and Conflict Studies Field Studies program and have gone around the globe to earn credit and gain invaluable life experience. In the past year students have been active peacebuilders in Peru, Zambia, Uganda, Tanzania, the Ukraine, Rwanda, and various places in Ontario, while doing a wide variety of work, from developing after school peace clubs, teaching peace curriculum to camp kids, supporting orphans and vulnerable children, researching human rights, working with young women with mental and physical disabilities, and working with refugees. 

Various pictures of field studies students on their field study

This experience is made possible through funding from PACS and the University of Waterloo. Field studies are an amazing opportunity for students to learn what it's like to work in the area of peace and justice, apply course concepts to the real world, and explore potential career opportunities. 

To learn more about different experiences that students have had, visit our student experiences page. If you're interested in doing a field study, check out the resources on our field studies page to get you started.