Santiago, Dominican Republic - Experiential Learning Abroad Programs with ISA

Prices & Dates What's Included Culture Corner Testimonials

I feel like the impact that ELAP has had on me has been very positive for the most part. I absolutely fell in love with the kids and I find myself thinking about them often. I have tons of pictures that I still enjoy flipping through every once in a while. In fact, I am in the process of applying for law school and wrote about one girl and how she left my heart just melting in my personal statement essay. I think I learned to have a lot of patience and being the only instructor for so many, and for such a broad age range helped me to just let things happen. I felt that the organization was very unorganized, and I was warned about that before getting involved, but I didn't fully comprehend it until I was able to experience the lack of structure firsthand. I see now why it is so important to have structure and organization within any organization. The kids themselves left the most impact on me. Seeing where some of them live and the conditions they are subject to was eye-opening and insightful. It made me realize that there is more to life than just living as Americans do, and it was still great in its own way. I truly miss those kids and grew very fond of each one in their own way. I am not sure if it was the kids themselves or the organization or a combination of both, but I grew very passionate for volunteering and have gotten involved in several community outreach programs in Denver. None of them quite compare to Caritas, both in good and bad ways, but I love it nonetheless. I take what I learned and how I dealt with and handled the situations and know that I gained so much on a personal level from it. Working with kids is my passion and I always knew that, but ELAP was just one more thing that firmly established that it is in fact what I really want to do. This has helped me to chose a career in law and to actively put my passion towards the greater good.

Maggie McNamara - Regis University
Santiago, Dominican Republic - Fall ISA + ELAP 2008

I am currently student teaching at a local high school, where I teach Spanish 2. I am completely in charge of the classroom. I will be graduating in May with a teaching degree. The ELAP program was a great introduction to teaching a foreign language. I am potentially interested in teaching English abroad so it was an interesting look into a different way of teaching; each country has a different set of classroom norms and teaching philosophies. The children I worked with were absolutely adorable, very loving, and I will always remember them.

Robin Dykema - Grand Valley State University
Santiago, Dominican Republic - Winter ISA + ELAP 2008