Hi!

My name is Sara Brzezinski.  I am a psychology professor on the Tarpon Springs campus.  I will be taking a group of students to Ecuador this summer to delve into a cross cultural comparison if mental health between the U.S. and Latin America.  We will visit a mental health facility, talk with local practitioners, complete a service learning project with a local school, walk through the Amazon Rainforest with a cultural healer, and so much more!  This is a great way for you to earn credit for Abnormal Psychology (CLP 2140), and experience a new culture in the process.  Please note that you will need to successfully complete General Psychology (PSY 1012) first, so please plan your spring schedules wisely.

I have had the opportunity to travel abroad personally and professionally for quite some time now.  My first experience traveling abroad was when I was seventeen and traveled to Europe for sixteen days.  This was a life changing opportunity for me.  I can guarantee that you will find a study abroad experience to be life changing for you as well.  You develop a global perspective which will influence your professional and personal lives.  This is also a wonderful opportunity to put on a resume for employment as well as graduate school applications.  If you have plans to enter into the field of psychology, especially the clinical or counseling subfields, having an understanding of Latin culture is becoming more and more of a requirement as the U.S. demographics continue to change.  Experiencing the culture and the ideas surrounding mental health is experience you will never be able to gain from a textbook or lecture.  This will improve your skills, understanding, and approaches as a future practitioner.

This study abroad is interdisciplinary.  Therefore, you also have the opportunity to earn a science credit, Tropical Ecology (BSC 2362).  Dr. Jim Wallis will be taking us on a journey through various ecosystems including the cloud forest, Amazon rainforest, coastal areas, Galapagos Islands, and much more!  The way we have designed the trip allows you to participate in both courses without missing out on any of the planned experiences.  We will keep the group together, regardless of which course you are enrolled in.  Therefore, this is also going to be a physically intense trip at times, so please review the itinerary before deciding to participate.  You can find all of the information regarding the program on our website.  Be sure to check out our short video too!

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.  I am looking forward to meeting you and sharing in this amazing journey with you!

Sincerely,

Sara Brzezinski

Brzezinski.sara@spcollege.edu