Welcome to Earth University
When we first arrived at Earth University it was a breath of fresh air. A private oasis, isolated from the bustling city of San Jose nestled into 8,000 acres of the Costa Rican rainforest. We spent the afternoon orienting ourselves with our surroundings before our first day of orientation the following morning.
We began our orientation with Nico, the Director of International Affairs. He played a short introduction video to our small class of Northeastern students where we learned about the history and education model of Earth University. The university was founded 25 years ago and initially funded by USAID. The goal of this university was to foster a democratic learning environment for students from lower socioeconomic statuses. USAID and the original founders believed that real change could only take place if we began to educate those in poorer communities and empower those individuals to invoke change within their own communities.
Earth University consists of 400 students from 44 different countries. The community is culturally and economically diverse. However, there is only one major, agro-economics. Students are given the opportunity to study agriculture through many different lenses and are later able to define their specific concentration in their third year of schooling. The three concentrations are renewable energy, horticulture and livestock. Each student is given the fundamental skills to become a generalist in each of those sectors and later become experts after they have declared their concentration.
In addition to Earth’s strong emphasis on agriculture and sustainability the school is extremely committed to entrepreneurship and community based work. 20% of the students who graduate from Earth University later create their own businesses in their own home communities. The university’s emphasis on community engagement and entrepreneurship inspires many of the students to take their education back to their home countries and create lasting change within their communities.
This is one of the many things that stood out to me during the orientation. Throughout my studies and time abroad I have found that the best way to build lasting and sustainable change is through community engagement. Therefore, I found Earth’s approach towards development and academia refreshing and uplifting.
I was also intrigued by Earth’s emphasis on enrolling students from lower socio-economic communities. Within the development sector experts are constantly talking about how education is one of the many solutions to alleviating extreme poverty. However, the problem always arises in which proper education is seldom accessible for those from lower income brackets. Earth University is an inspiring response to the educational needs of the many who desire a higher education. Approximately 85% of students are on some type of scholarship primarily funded by the MasterCard Foundation. This allows many students from small indigenous villages across the world to attend a school that they would otherwise not be able to attend.
Lastly, I found that Earth University’s orientation on cultural differences was far more progressive than most. For example, during our safety and precautions orientation the Director emphasized the differences of male and female courting practices between those from the U.S. and Earth’s diverse community on campus (Particularly individuals from Latin American African citizens). Rather than pinning individuals from Latin America and Africa as poorly mannered or disrespectful our Director explained that what we say and do in one culture may be interpreted as far more than what we intended in another culture. As a result we as students should be extremely aware of how we interact with the opposite gender in order to avoid any miscommunication between the two parties.
Earth University’s consciousness of community engagement, diversity, and cultural awareness was a refreshing taste of what type of university Earth represents. It is a fresh perspective that has warranted plenty of reflection and change in behavior on my part. In just one week I have grown more conscious and more engaged in understanding the landscape of Earth University and Costa Rica as a whole. I look forward to the exciting adventures and experiences to come over these next four weeks.
