{"id":78437,"date":"2026-08-03T13:27:59","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T20:27:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/?p=78437"},"modified":"2026-08-05T08:39:58","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T15:39:58","slug":"greetings-from-puerto-rico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/greetings-from-puerto-rico\/","title":{"rendered":"Greetings from Puerto Rico!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every journey begins with a single step, but some journeys take us far beyond what we ever imagined.\u00a0Traveling\u00a0can be\u00a0more than\u00a0an opportunity\u00a0to visit a new place;\u00a0it\u00a0can also be\u00a0a\u00a0way\u00a0to discover new cultures, build lasting\u00a0connections\u00a0and gain a deeper understanding of the world around\u00a0us.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This summer, a group of\u00a030\u00a0Lumberjacks discovered just that through NAU\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>award-winning<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>Global Citizens Project Scholars (GCPS)<\/span><\/a>\u00a0program, which\u00a0took\u00a0students to Italy,\u00a0Ecuador\u00a0and a new destination,\u00a0Puerto Rico. GCPS\u00a0began\u00a0in 2022\u00a0in collaboration with the\u00a0<\/span>Honors College<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0<\/span>Economic Policy Institute (EPI)<\/span><\/a>\u00a0to provide resources and\u00a0expand\u00a0access to global experiences for undergraduate students who might\u00a0not otherwise\u00a0have the opportunity to\u00a0travel outside the continental U.S.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"NAU<\/a>\u201cGCPS is open to\u00a0Pell-grant-eligible, first-generation, Indigenous and\u00a0honors\u00a0students in the Yuma and Flagstaff mountain\u00a0campuses,\u201d said\u00a0<\/span>Angelina\u00a0Palumbo<\/span><\/b>, director\u00a0of business and educational partnerships\u00a0at the\u00a0<\/span>Center of International Education (CIE)<\/span><\/a>. \u201cThe program\u00a0is there to help\u00a0students\u00a0understand their place in the world\u00a0by\u00a0looking at their identity through their own\u00a0lens\u00a0as well as through the lenses of others. Students\u00a0take\u00a0an introspective look at where\u00a0they\u00a0are\u00a0and how it potentially applies to their space in the world.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0This summer, during the\u00a0<\/span>Puerto Rico<\/a> program, students explored the island, its traditions and the communities who live there after six weeks of online classes. Ten undergraduates from a variety of majors participated.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe chose Puerto Rico this summer to provide access,\u201d Palumbo said. \u201cWe thought it was a good first step for students who might not be ready to go internationally and would be more comfortable traveling away from the continental U.S. Puerto Rico offers a completely\u00a0different cultural\u00a0experience while\u00a0not needing a passport to travel there. Part of the course includes looking at colonialism and the impacts it has had\u00a0on\u00a0the archipelago\u00a0and across the U.S.,\u00a0as well as\u00a0how it has\u00a0impacted\u00a0the decisions that are being made on the island.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"NAU<\/a>Changing perspectives<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

Students had the\u00a0opportunity to interview locals about their thoughts on statehood and independence.\u00a0It was something\u00a0<\/span>Tianna Lyons<\/span><\/b>, a sophomore in strategic communications with a minor in social work,\u00a0said\u00a0made an impact.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBefore arriving\u00a0in\u00a0Puerto Rico, many of us assumed that most Puerto Ricans wanted independence from the U.S.,\u201d Lyons said. \u201cHowever, while we were in Adjuntas, our tour guide shared his own perspective and explained that he did not want Puerto Rico to become independent. That moment reminded me that communities are not monolithic and that there are always multiple perspectives within any group of people.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"NAU<\/a>Palumbo said another highlight of the journey was their visit to Casa Pueblo in Adjuntas. This environmental community organization has reclaimed energy independence by installing solar panels and creating a microgrid system that allows them to avoid relying on the government to restore the power grid after a storm. The community manages the power itself so that local businesses are not left in the dark and people can plug into outlets to connect with their loved ones for free.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Students visited Old San Juan\u00a0and\u00a0El Yunque National Forest and\u00a0participated\u00a0in a coffee tree planting service project during their visit to Casa Pueblo. They also experienced marine ecology lessons in La\u00a0Parguera, where they\u00a0swam\u00a0in a bioluminescent bay.\u00a0Students also\u00a0explored\u00a0the\u00a0Caguana Ceremonial Indigenous Heritage Center\u00a0near\u00a0Utuado\u00a0in the central mountains, where\u00a0they\u00a0learned about Ta\u00edno history and culture.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was amazing to see students make the connection from pre-researching,\u00a0reading\u00a0books\u00a0and watching documentaries\u00a0to going and actually experiencing everything firsthand,\u201d Palumbo said.\u00a0\u201cIt brought the whole cohesiveness of the program together.\u00a0The itinerary for this program was specially crafted with this in mind,\u00a0with the\u00a0assistance\u00a0of\u00a0<\/span>Rima Brusi<\/span><\/b>,\u00a0professor in the Honors College.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A one-of-a-kind mentor<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

\"NAU<\/a>One of the assignments\u00a0of the program\u00a0consisted of having students select a biological mentor within Puerto Rico, using a practice called\u00a0biomimicry.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the practice of emulating nature\u2019s strategies to solve human challenges,\u201d said\u00a0<\/span>Melissa Jurgensen<\/span><\/b>, research associate at EPI and\u00a0professor\u00a0of the\u00a0program. \u201cIt was included in the GCPS Puerto Rico program because it complements the concept of global citizenship. Just as global citizenship encourages us to learn from and respect diverse cultures, biomimicry teaches us to learn from and respect the natural world and of course, these things are related.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jurgensen said that by studying how local organisms function to contribute to the health and resilience of their communities, students gained insight into how humans can likewise contribute to the well-being of the cultural and environmental systems of which they are a part. This approach encouraged students to view themselves as not only tourists but\u00a0also\u00a0as responsible participants in the diverse,\u00a0complex\u00a0and long-standing stories on the archipelago of Puerto Rico.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Through\u00a0a\u00a0self-lens, students\u00a0reflected on their\u00a0backgrounds, career\u00a0plans\u00a0and\u00a0responsibilities as global citizens,\u00a0and through a\u00a0nature-lens,\u00a0they selected a Puerto Rican\u00a0plant or animal\u00a0as their\u00a0biological\u00a0\u201cmentor.\u201d\u00a0Once a mentor was selected, students completed a\u00a0biomimicry nature technology summary on their organism, relating it back to their careers and\u00a0what they\u00a0have\u00a0learned\u00a0from their mentor.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Bianca<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI chose the Puerto Rican\u00a0parrot because its function is to communicate across vast distances\u00a0in a dense rainforest\u00a0with\u00a0its\u00a0distinct calls,\u201d said\u00a0senior\u00a0<\/span>Bianca Gutierrez<\/span><\/b>, a psychological sciences\u00a0major. \u201cThis has made them resilient against climate-related adversities and has helped them\u00a0maintain\u00a0their community. This function aligns with my future career in counseling as it is essential to learn how to effectively communicate with clients, which comes with adapting to the surrounding environment and community to learn a variety of customs and ways of life.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Other biological mentors included the hawksbill sea turtle, the bioluminescent dinoflagellate, the flor de maga, the West Indian manatee, the coqu\u00ed frog and the red mangrove, chosen by Tianna Lyons because of the stability it represents and how it helps support and protect the ecosystems.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lynnae Horinek<\/span><\/b>, a junior majoring in psychological sciences and Spanish, choose the Tabonuco tree as her biological mentor.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI selected the Tabonuco tree because it taught me how to come together with others to find solutions with roots intertwined, holding steady against hurricane-force winds,\u201d Horinek said. \u201cThrough all lenses, I\u2019ve learned so much about global citizenship, how nature can teach us about our own lives and solutions and how it can reflect what\u2019s going on in social and economic contexts.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lessons learned<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

\"12<\/a>After the journey, students returned with a broader understanding of\u00a0different cultures,\u00a0ecosystems\u00a0and the importance of\u00a0community and connection. The experience\u00a0demonstrated\u00a0how learning through travel\u00a0can bring classroom concepts to life for students.\u00a0\u201cAs a Native American student, I had never traveled this far from home before,\u201d Lyons said.\u00a0\u201cBeing able to experience another culture firsthand was both exciting and eye-opening.\u00a0\u00a0Everyone\u00a0in the group\u00a0was excited to learn, willing to engage with\u00a0new ideas, and open to perspectives that were different from their own.\u00a0The lessons I learned in Puerto Rico are things I continue to carry with\u00a0me\u00a0and I believe other students would\u00a0benefit\u00a0from\u00a0having the\u00a0same opportunity.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For more information about the GCPS program, visit\u00a0their\u00a0<\/span>website<\/span><\/a> or contact Angelina Palumbo via email<\/a>. The deadline to apply for the 6th annual 2027 GCPS program for Italy, Ecuador and Vietnam is Nov. 1.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Northern<\/a>Mariana Laas | NAU Communications
\n(928) 523-5050 | mariana.laas@nau.edu<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every journey begins with a single step, but some journeys take us far beyond what we ever imagined.\u00a0Traveling\u00a0can be\u00a0more than\u00a0an opportunity\u00a0to visit a new place;\u00a0it\u00a0can also be\u00a0a\u00a0way\u00a0to discover new cultures, build lasting\u00a0connections\u00a0and gain a deeper understanding of the world around\u00a0us.\u00a0 This summer, a group of\u00a030\u00a0Lumberjacks discovered just that through NAU\u2019s\u00a0award-winning\u00a0Global Citizens Project Scholars (GCPS)\u00a0program, which\u00a0took\u00a0students…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3019,"featured_media":78480,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1821,11,1829],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-78437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lumberjacks-abroad","category-research-academics","category-student-edition"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3019"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78437"}],"version-history":[{"count":54,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78437\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78540,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78437\/revisions\/78540"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}