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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN WWW.KANSAN.COM News WEDNESDAY, JULY 9, 2008
PROFILE
Scholarship recipient reveals South African truths
BY GRETCHENGIER
ggier@kansan.com
Chris De La Cruz mentions a feeling of pride about representing the University while living abroad in South Africa.
De La Cruz, Coffeyville senior, said he was, quite possibly, the only Kansan in the entire country, making him quite the novelty. But De La Cruz also speaks of the poverty in South Africa: a wide-scale problem that people back home couldn't imagine that debilitated every corner of society.
"Homeless people sleep on the sidewalks on every block that isn't busy at all hours of the day," De La Cruz said. "White people can't move in this city without being accosted by beggars at every turn."
De La Cruz returned home this June after spending a semester as one of three Benjamin A. Gilman International scholars from the University last semester. The Gilman scholarship offers grants to students of limited financial means to pursue study abroad with the intent of preparing American students to assume significant roles in an interdependent, global economy.
While studying at the University of Cape Town, De La Cruz volunteered with an organization called SHAWCO, Student Health and
Wellness Community Organization, and taught business skills to local South Africans. He called the program a farce and depressing, saying he was inevitably getting more out of it than the participants.
"I taught very basic entrepreneurship skills to a room full of people who desperately need to make some loot," De La Cruz said. "Their goal is to write a business plan. Any failure on my part can be absolutely devastating. It's a heavy burden."
De La Cruz said that, optimistically, the future of South Africa was pointed toward a positive future. The country's monetary currency is making a rebound, there's a growing black middle class and the government has improved the educational system on issues of race.
"The part of me that is dedicated to social progress wanted to act more than I was able to," De La Cruz said. "The South African situation gives me a vision of what our parents and grandparents experienced in the 1940s and 1950s and after the Civil Rights Movement. All of these struggles and frustrations have contributed greatly to my perspective on American race issues."
As an African and African-American Studies major, De La Cruz wanted to gain a political perspective about South Africa that he felt many Americans avoid. He read books and texts that were outside of the Western
discourse and explored Marxist thought, which he said was given intellectual respect in South Africa.
"I miss how intellectually lateral I was allowed to be with my thoughts and research," De La Cruz said. I'm still trying to come to terms with everything I discussed and thought while I was there. I may not come to terms with it until I go back to South Africa."
Aavril Hernandez, Edgerton senior, was also chosen as a Gilman scholar to study in Costa Rica. She felt a great sense of pride representing the University, and said living abroad made her think in different ways, broadening her understanding of life in a lesser developed country.
"They lack a lot of technology tools that we take for granted in the States," Hernandez said. "I really appreciate now that we have access to so much technology and how lucky we are to have such good fountains of information in our libraries."
Hernandez said she encountered negative stereotypes of American women. At her orientation, the Tico assistants presented their stereotypes of Americans. They thought people from the U.S. were rich, ignorant, self-centered, agreed with George Bush, and that American women were promiscuous.
"It was very important to me that I represented myself with dignity," Hernandez said, "and even though
Mindy Ricketts/KANSAN
Chris De la Cruz, senior, received a Gilman Scholarship to study in South Africa. He said that he won't ever wash his shoes because the dirt on them is a piece of South Africa that he carries with him.
the U.S. tends to have a bad reputation with the international community, I wanted to be someone that made them think differently about what they see in the media."
Hernandez would not have been able to study abroad without the scholarship, and will share her experience with high school students to promote International Education and Awareness when she returns.
Nancy Chaison, associate director of study abroad, said the Gilman
והתקשורת של המשתמש . והתקשורת של המשתמש . והתקשורת של המשתמש .
program seeks to assist students choosing non-traditional locations of study abroad, especially areas outside of Western Europe and Australia. Students applying for the scholarship need be receiving a Pell Grant, and should have high financial need.
"We ask scholarship recipients to share their experiences, and encourage other students to study abroad," Chaison said.
Edited by Rustin Dodd