ECC Employees Gain Global Perspective Through Beyond Borders Program in Belize

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Seven Elgin Community College (ECC) employees traveled to Belize in Central America as part of the Beyond Borders: Global Engagement Professional Development Program, returning with a deeper understanding of another culture and new perspectives they can bring back to campus. 

During the program, the group visited local educational institutions, met with community health workers and midwives to hear about their experiences, and immersed themselves in the culture. 

The Beyond Borders Program is a short-term international training professional program for eligible ECC faculty and administrators. According to ECC’s Associate Dean of Recruitment, Outreach, and Global Engagement Lauren Nehlsen, the initiative is designed to expand participants’ global awareness and intercultural understanding through firsthand experiences abroad. Beyond Borders launched in summer 2024.

This year's participants included:

• Dean of Math, Science, and Engineering Farah Bennani, PhD
• Associate Professor of Physics Richard Jesik
• Assistant Professor of Biology Jennifer Maxwell
• Assistant Professor of English Carissa Miller
• Associate Professor of Human Services & Instructional Coordinator Liddy Hope
• Professor of English as a Second Language Colleen Stribling, EdD
• Senior Director of Content and Creative Services Scott Piner 

Learning Beyond the Classroom

A major focus of the Belize trip was to spend time at local educational institutions and community centers to get a sense of what education is like in Central America compared to the U.S. ECC employees visited schools such as the Cayo Welcome Center, the Sacred Heart Junior College, and Succotz Primary School.

“Each day had a different educational component,” Piner said. “We saw schools for over three or four days.”

One memorable experience began with a student named Joseph, whom they met at the Cayo Centre for Employment Training. Joseph worked at a local restaurant and invited the group to dine there. The staff took Joseph up on his offer. At the restaurant, he served them dinner, and ECC employees and Joseph all took a group photo together, Piner said. 

The group also spent time in the small village of Arenal, where they met with a local community health worker and a midwife with more than 40 years of experience, Piner said. The midwife told the group that when she walks around town, she knows everyone because she helped deliver or birth many residents into the world. 

They also learned how the local community health worker regularly visits residents in their homes to check on their well-being and provide needed supplies. With the nearest hospital more than 90 minutes away, these services are essential, Piner said. Before leaving, ECC participants donated supplies to support the health worker’s ongoing work in the community. 

Stribling recalled one moment where they spent an evening at the Benkei House of Culture, where they helped create carpets made of powder.

“They’ve cut out the design, and then they make these carpets,” Stribling said. “It's very typical on their streets to make carpets, so one of the things that we were invited to do, and they gave us a lesson.”

One night, they went to dinner where a local marimba band was playing. A local teacher led the band of students, and after dinner, the students chatted with ECC employees and taught them how to play the marimbas. 

“It was a group that had international acclaim; they’ve performed all over the world,” Piner said. “They had these instruments donated to them by places all over the world. The students were really talented.”

Throughout the trip, participants documented their reflections in a shared document, according to  Stribling. Many wrote that the village and its people will “live in their heart and mind forever.” 

A Broader Perspective

For Stribling, one of the program’s greatest strengths was the group itself.

“What was really interesting to me is we managed to have a fairly diverse group of individuals, teaching different subjects,” Stribling said. “We had biology, physics, astrology, English, human services, and then we had marketing folks. I teach English as a second language, but to have that diversity, when we went places, we had lots of people asking different questions that perhaps you wouldn’t have thought of. “

Piner added that the trip gave the group a better understanding of Belize’s culture.

“Learning how other people around the world live, work, and play,” he said. “It's about bonding and community, and we did a nice job of connecting, learning, and going with the flow. Overall, it gave us a good education.”

The Beyond Borders program will continue next year, with applications opening July 1, 2026. The 2027 cohort will travel to Italy, followed by a planned program to Botswana in 2028, in partnership with EDU Africa. 

An information session is being planned for early fall 2026. Applications are due October 15, 2026. Those interested can apply online at elgin.edu/studyabroad.