Cultural Learning Tour at Juniata College
ND 203- 1 credit

Professor at Juniata College on Cultural Learning Tour

Coordinated by the Office of Diversity & Inclusion and the Community Service/Service Learning Office, the Cultural Learning Tour (CLT) is an annual abroad experience that allows students to be exposed to, explore and engage in direct and indirect community development while being immersed in a new culture.

Become aware of social, cultural, political and/or environmental issues through various service and educational experiences, and develop a foundation of knowledge about the importance of civic and community engagement. Leading up to the trip, students participate in workshops (once a week for 6 weeks) to discuss culture (food, dance and language), privilege and historical context of the area we will visit. 

During our 2016 trip, participants lived with host families in Santo Domingo for the duration of their 12 day visit. Mornings and afternoons were spent at Centro Guanin and in the community of La Piedra completing projects such as installing a well to bring water to over 100 families, assisting with a medical clinic, facilitating language intensive lessons for Guanin's English teachers and painting homes. In our downtime the group visited local caverns, attended a baseball game, went sightseeing in the historical Zona Colonial, spent the day at Soana Island and Boca Chica beach and learned dances such as Bachata and Meringue. Throughout the trip, students also participate in group reflections. 

Cultural Learning Tour 2020: 

Student participating in Juniata College's Cultural Learning Tour
Students participating in the Cultural Learning Tour at Centro GuaninStudents participating in the Cultural Learning Tour at Centro Guanin

  • There will be a course fee about $650 which will be charged to your tuition account.
  • You will pay for your airfare in monthly installments beginning with a $100 deposit.
  • Accommodations: Homestays + some meals covered

Centro Guanin

  • Centro Guanin is a foundation and school in La Piedra, an underserved community about 30 minutes from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. The center was created in order to help young people to discover, develop and achieve their full potential as adults, citizens and leaders.
  • Members of Guanin are engaged in activities that challenge and enrich their minds, bodies, spirits, and nurture their self-esteem to overcome structural barriers that prevent them from accessing life's necessities. 
  • The community is a unique, inclusive, mixed Dominican and Haitian community that works together to feed, house educate, give care to and clothe one another.

Amigos de Guanin 

Amigos de Guanin is a Juniata College Registered Student Organization, founded in 2014, that supports the Centro Guanin Foundation. Members help to educate peers on the issues that our friends in the DR face and hold fundraisers to support the purchase of materials for projects completed during the CLT. Students going on the CLT can assist with running the fundraisers to earn monetary support for their cost contribution. 

Centro Guanin

Past CLTs:

Copal AA, Guatemala  Cherekoee Territory Northern Ireland

Past trips:

  • 2006: Copal AA, Guatemala
  • 2007: Appalachia/Cherokee Territory, Tennessee & North Carolina
  • 2008: Pucara, Ecuador
  • 2009: Caimito, Puerto Rico
  • 2010: Northern Ireland
  • 2011: Pine Ridge Reservation, Black Hills South Dakota
  • 2012: Dominican Republic
  • 2013: New Orleans, LA
  • 2014: Dominican Republic
  • 2015: Dominican Republic 
  • 2016: Dominican Republic

To join us for next year's Cultural Learning Tour, or for more information, contact:

Dr. Cynthia Merriwether-deVries
Associate Director of the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
(814) 641-3678
devries@juniata.edu