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“I
’ve only been in America my whole life, so I don’t know what
the rest of the world is like,” Wissmann said. “There are so
many others to consider and serve and help,” she said,
expressing her desire to acknowledge and help fill the needs of
others throughout the world.
Field experiences through the Health and Exercise Sciences
Department provide opportunities for students to apply
career-oriented skills in an off-campus internship during the
summer months. For five weeks, Wissmann lived in the New
Jersey-sized country, working with HIV Hope, a program that
works to encourage and support those afflicted with HIV. The
program is a facet of New
Mission Systems International,
an agency that coordinates
Christian missions globally.
Wissmann and her
companions primarily stayed in
Malawi’s modernized capital city,
Lilongwe. However, the group
conducted most of their seminars
in small villages, where they
spent their evenings without
electricity, conversing with villagers. “When it’s dark outside
you just talk with people,” she said. “You’re done working at
the end of the day,” Wissmann explained, acknowledging the
relational aspect of the culture.
In addition, Wissmann said she noticed especially the
humble, giving spirit of the villagers. “They’re really selfless,”
she said. “They’re very simplistic and don’t base value on
material possessions.”
One particular experience stood out to Wissmann. “There
was a little boy who I formed a relationship with while we
were there,” she said. “Even though we didn’t speak each
other’s language, we would play games and he would teach me
through motions.” On Wissmann’s last day there, the boy
brought her a doughnut as a gift of acknowledgement and
appreciation for her friendship. “While we were there, he
didn’t change his clothes more than twice—he had holes in
them,” she said, noting the selflessness in his expression of
gratitude and how his generosity moved her.
Chris Lantz, HES professor, department chair and one of the
coordinators for HES field experiences, said many students
completing internships abroad, and even locally, report similar
satisfaction with the program. “The students consistently evaluate
the field experience as the top experiential opportunity they have
in our department,” Lantz said. “Among all the great things going
on, they commonly will cite field experience as one of the
most—if not the most—developmental experience.”
Lantz explained two of the three programs within the
HES department require practical fieldwork, and some
students complete as many as 320 hours. Nearly 90
students participate each summer, and Lantz said the
experiences help students make decisions about what
they want to do in their future careers. “In many ways,
those field experiences either reaffirm their interest in a
particular area or shed light on the fact that this might
not be the best fit for them professionally,” Lantz said.
HES students have studied nationally in their home
communities and in other places throughout the U.S.
Others, like Wissmann, have chosen to study as far away
as Africa, Ireland, Australia, Mexico and England.
Students generally search for and select their own internships,
but Lantz and four of his colleagues, help find sites, give approval
and take care of problems and other issues. Students also
“I wish everybody would
step out of our borders
and see what life is like in
other countries.”
complete a variety of assignments throughout the internship that
promote personal reflection on their experiences.
Lantz noted that field experiences, especially those abroad,
help round out the entire Truman experience. “In order to
consider oneself to be truly benefitting from a liberal arts and
sciences education, you’ve got to immerse yourself in a foreign
culture,” he said. “I just don’t see how you can say that you’re
knowledgeable in the ways of the world unless you’ve seen the
different ways of the world.”
Lantz said, many times, the field experiences provide eyeopening
opportunities for the students. “Kids who come to
Truman, rich or poor, have led a
life of privilege,” Lantz explained,
referring to the caliber of
schooling that students receive and
often take for granted. “Isn’t it
interesting when they go
someplace and they see where kids
are fighting for the chance to go
to school and often, at great
personal risk,” he added, referring
to the new lens through which
students evaluate their experiences.
Wissmann said her field experience is one she wouldn’t trade.
In fact, she plans to affiliate with NMSI, the organization through
which she worked last summer, to continue mission work after
she graduates. “It’s definitely an invaluable experience,” she said.
“I wish everybody would step out of our borders and see what life
is like in other countries.”
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