by Hannah Gruber ’10

Hannah Carlson '08 with children in Guadalajara

For three weeks each January, a group of Bethel students embark to teach children and youth in Guadalajara, Mexico. The experience has changed the life of numerous students, including six alumni who have returned to the city to teach full time and three more who are in the process of applying to teach there.

“There are Bethel students developing a love of the culture who want to commit part of their lives to working in that part of the country with Mexican kids, and that’s what we were hoping would happen,” said Jay Rasmussen, Bethel professor of education and director of the master of arts in K-12 education program. Rasmussen leads the course Teaching and Learning in Guadalajara along with Assistant Professor of Modern World Languages Mauricio Nava-Delgado.

“While I was [in Mexico] in January I simply fell in love with the people, culture, and language,” explained Alumna Hannah Carlson ’08. “When I returned to the states after the trip, I prayed about what I’d be doing post-graduation, and it was as if God just opened all the doors for me to come down here.”

Dominique Dynes '07 during interim 2007 class in Guadalajara

Carlson currently lives with a Mexican family in a small apartment on the roof of the house. “I am continually grateful for who they are. They have welcomed me into their familia and loved me as one of their own.”

All six alumni have returned to Lincoln School, an independent Christian school of 470 students, where they received hands-on experience during the interim course by designing and teaching a complete instructional unit as well as creating lesson plans and a classroom ethnography (the scientific description of the customs of individual peoples or cultures); providing leadership in team devotionals and chapel services at Lincoln; and journaling responses to assigned readings.

“They have seen the environment they will teach in, and they feel like they can be successful. And quite often they just love Mexico and want to go back,” Rasmussen said.

“I only called home to Minnesota twice during my three weeks in Mexico and on the second call I am pretty sure I scared my mom,” Dominique Dynes ’07 remembers. “I said, ‘Mom, I don’t want to leave, I love it here. And I just interviewed for a job teaching here next year.’”

For Marin Alger ’07, the interim course and Bethel’s education department as a whole provided the foundation for her return: “The education department at Bethel was an excellent source of support and ideas as I made my decision to come here. I know they have God’s plan and my gifts in mind when assisting me.”

Rasmussen is excited to continue to see how God plans to use the interim course to transform lives in the coming years: “Mauricio and I lead this course because of the growth we see that takes place in the students who have been on the trip. They learn so much about teaching, lesson design, and kids—and their love for Mexican culture.”