Throughout the more than 100 years that Webster University has been in St. Louis, the institution has worked to open worlds that were previously closed to students.
Working to attract a diverse student body and helping them be successful while they are at Webster is an ongoing core value at the university. Nearly half of all Webster students self-identify as an ethnic minority.
In recent years, Webster has doubled the number of endowed scholarship funds for diverse populations, including a dozen scholarships that are specifically reserved to recruit international students. The university has also increased scholarship support for students who spend time studying abroad.
Figuring out how to eliminate barriers to access within the Study Abroad program helped to inspire the creation of a very unique class in the fall of 2019.
“When I came to Webster, one of the things that drew me in was the fact that we had a campus in Ghana and that there might be an opportunity to take students abroad to study Africa,” said Emmanuel Balogun, assistant professor of international relations at Webster University. “At the same time, Corey Hawkins, transitions coordinator in the Academic Resource Center had been thinking about issues regarding equity and retention for students of color, and thought one way we can improve both would be to use Study Abroad as a mechanism to create an exclusive group experience that would deepen the connection students of color have to the institution.”
From that idea, the Africana studies experiential learning course was created, and nine students signed up for the semester-long course, which combined in-classroom learning in Webster Groves, including a week-long trip to the Webster University Ghana campus, with donor funds helping to underwrite the investment needed to make this trip possible.
“So many people worked together to make this course happen and create an impactful experience for the students involved,” said Vincent Flewellen, Webster’s chief diversity officer. “All of the students involved were students of color, and most of them had never traveled overseas prior to this trip, so I am grateful that we were able to give them a study-abroad experience that was educational and meaningful for them.”
Millenia Wells, a sophomore majoring in biological sciences with an emphasis in health and medicine, registered for the class. She said she felt at home in Ghana, and was surprised by the warmth and hospitality that she encountered. The experience also affected her in other ways.
Professor Emmanuel Balogun, Ph.D., and students from the Introduction to Africana Studies course outside of Independence Square in Accra, Ghana Photo courtesy of Webster University Ghana
“The most impactful thing I experienced while in Ghana was visiting the Assin Manso Slave River,” Wells said. “Being able to partially relive what my ancestors experienced hurt me to my core. Overall, it filled me with raw emotions – anger toward the white men who publicly dehumanized and murdered my people; helpless toward my ancestors who were direct victims of these colonizing forces. But through it all, it empowered me. A system that was designed to humiliate, destroy and terminate our very existence actually made us stronger. Despite everything my ancestors endured and the current systems of oppression that black people still continue to face, we are still here, and that is very impactful for me.”
Balogun said he was impressed by watching the students in Ghana.
“The trip was a defining moment of my career as a professor – to see the students come together like they did, to hold each other accountable while lifting each other up, and to see that we were able to provide an experience that no classroom discussion, paper or exam would ever be able to replicate, was extremely empowering,” he said. “I noticed that the students were deeply reflective about every aspect of the trip, from the representation on billboards and learning some difficult truths about the slave trade, to their interactions with their Webster Ghana counterparts. The students were tremendously present and attentive to their sense of place. While they were able to make some explicit connections akin to what we learned about in the class, the students were also cognizant of the reality that the connections weren’t what they imagined they would be. They dealt with things like colorism and identity, which complicated their expectations.”
Linking the classroom learning with the first-hand observations created a rich educational experience for the students.
“The social, economical and political struggles and victories of Ghana that we learned about in class were informative and engaging, but being able to experience these historical facets by visiting the country from which they were born left me in awe,” Wells said. “I specifically noticed this when we toured the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum. Professor Balogun taught of the achievements and sacrifices Kwame Nkrumah made for Ghana, and seeing his impact in person was encouraging. Because I had the background information prior to visiting the motherland, I did not feel like a visitor when entering the county. I felt like I was home.”
“I strongly believe that this class should be embedded as a signature program for Webster,” Balogun said. “A trip like ours is definitive about issues of equity and student success, and by regularly offering opportunities for our students who typically would not think studying abroad is in the cards for them, can help in all facets of student success. Students were more invested in the course and more attuned to the disparities they face on campus and in their communities, but also more aware about how they can be advocates for change on campus and in their communities.”
One of the ways that the students are advocating for change in their own community is by sharing their experiences in Ghana at the 2020 Diversity & Inclusion Conference on the Webster Groves campus Fe. 24 to 27. During the conference, the students will share their experiences with attendees and describe what they learned and the impact of the trip.
“This year at the conference we will talk about taking the ideas of inclusion from conversation to action,” Flewellen said. “This class is the perfect example of that. We saw a need for increased study-abroad opportunities for students of color, and we worked together and created one for the students that was both interesting to them and impactful.
“Education happens through experiences, and we feel that the students learned so much in their own experience in traveling to Ghana – we look forward to helping educate others in what they’ve learned,” Flewellen said.
In addition to the panel and documentary on the Intro to African Studies trip to Ghana, the conference will also feature a session from Michele Norris, an award-winning journalist and founder of The Race Card Project, Shelly Tochluk, the author of “Witnessing Whiteness,” and Aisha Sultan, a nationally syndicated columnist and independent filmmaker.
For more information on the 2020 Diversity & Inclusion Conference, visit webster.edu/conversations.