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Thanks to an initial gift and a strong international partnership, six Augustana students and a faculty member spent the 2024 spring semester studying in Costa Rica. With a successful semester under their belts, Augustana and the International Programs Office (IPO) are seeking ways to expand this enriching partnership.

In 2021, when the IPO began conceptualizing a faculty-led semester program, Costa Rica was top of mind because of its proximity, safety, cost and strong study-away infrastructure. When the time came to find a partner university in Costa Rica, the IPO was able to do in-country outreach, thanks to a lead gift from Micah ‘04 and Jaclyn (Sutton) Aberson ‘05. After multiple scouting trips, Augustana landed on Universidad Hispanoamericana (UH).

“They were very open and welcoming, and they toured us around to a couple of their campuses within San Jose,” said Erin Kane, interim co-director of the IPO. “UH did such a good job, and we couldn’t have asked for a better partner.”

When Augustana began considering who would spend a semester in Costa Rica, they turned to the nursing department. In January — a journey three years in the making — Dr. Michelle Gierach, associate professor of nursing, and six students arrived in the country for their semester abroad.

Cadie Ragland ‘26, Jenna Ebert ‘26, Ella Fuhr ‘26, Leah Arnold ‘26, Keira Sensenig ‘26 and Spencer Christie ‘27 didn’t know each other well going into the program but became fast friends.

“When we got to the Sioux Falls airport, we immediately clicked,” Ragland, of Rochester, Minnesota, said. “There was never an awkward phase between us. I'm still in touch with all of them.”

The students dove into Costa Rican life quickly and began taking courses — Pathophysiology, taught by Gierach; Culture & Health Care in Costa Rica, co-taught by Gierach and UH faculty; and Microbiology, Tropical Medicine and a Spanish course through UH.

“I went to Spanish class with the students two days a week for three hours each,” Gierach said. “It was a super humbling experience because I would get called on in the classroom, and I couldn't answer the question. But, that was good because I was a learner, too. I got stretched way out of my comfort zone.”

Ragland said she, too, left her comfort zone — not only by studying away for five months, but by testing out her Spanish skills in a Spanish-speaking country. Ragland, a nursing and Spanish double major, and Ebert weren’t required to take the Spanish course through UH given their experience, but they were relied upon by their classmates.

“I'm a lot more comfortable messing up my Spanish,” Ragland said. “Jenna and I were the only Spanish majors, so we just had to go for it and talk to people. I feel like I'm more willing to just start speaking Spanish now.”

Ragland was given the chance to use her Spanish while shadowing an intensive care unit (ICU) nurse at a Sanford World Clinic — part of the Hospital Metropolitano system — in San Jose. During the day-long visit, Ragland said she got an up-close look at the differences between the Costa Rican and U.S. health care systems — an affirming experience.

“It really helped me think, ‘I want to do this — nursing,’” said Ragland.

Joining the Gierach Family

On top of teaching and looking out for her students, Gierach was also ensuring her own family was adapting to their new Costa Rican home. When she was considering the semester abroad, Gierach’s first consideration was her family.

“I came home one day and asked my husband, ‘What do you think about moving to Costa Rica for a semester? Would you be willing to go?’” Gierach recalled.

Gierach’s husband, Mark, who works remotely, agreed, and the family packed up and headed south for five months. Gierach’s oldest son, Ethan ‘25, held down the fort at Augustana as a junior within the School of Business, while her younger sons — a high school junior, sixth grader and kindergartener — enrolled in school in Costa Rica.

Not long into the semester, the Gierach family grew by six Augustana students.

“We wanted to give them a place away from home where we could cook a meal for them and they could have that family environment,” Gierach said. “I got to know them very well, and they got to know my family very well and were just wonderful with my children. We would call them ‘the students’ and my kindergartener would say, ‘Mom, when are the students coming over?’”

The semester also included lessons in cooking, meal planning, budgeting, navigating illness, adapting to a new culture and assimilating into the UH student population.

For Ragland and her classmates, having the Gierachs close by was welcomed in the tough moments and the celebratory.

“Michelle was always there for us if we ever had a question. We all had birthdays while we were there, which was hard to be away from friends and family for, but she invited us over and would get us our favorite kind of cake and make us our favorite meal,” said Ragland. “It was really nice to have that second family.”

To celebrate the end of the semester, the Gierach/Augustana family took a 5-day trip to Monteverde and Rio Celeste, or the Celeste River.

Reflecting & Growing

Gierach and the students have been reflecting on their semester program since they arrived back in the U.S. in May. But, Gierach, who led a reflection course throughout the semester, encouraged her students to think thoughtfully each week they were there.

“They were processing things as they were going along, realizing just how much they were growing,” Gierach said. “I think they realized how different cultures interact and how that impacts the patients they’ll care for.

“Not everybody comes from the same culture we do, even in the U.S. So, how would they incorporate that into their patient care? I feel like it gives them this bigger picture, this bigger worldview, and it helps them to be OK with being uncomfortable.”

For Kane, these learning opportunities are a testament to the partnership Augustana has cultivated with UH.

“UH has taken every idea and run with it,” Kane said. “They do such a good job of educating their nurses and in really innovative ways. And, UH is just so willing to consider what might be a wild idea — like when we showed up three years ago and asked, ‘How about hosting a whole class for an entire semester?’

“And, it’s important for students to walk into that culture and get a chance to try something new, to be in a place where you have to really stretch your brain to be able to communicate with people, experience different climates, people and even social events,” Kane continued. “Finding an appreciation for all of that (is important), as well as coming home and appreciating some things in a new way.”

Also supported by UH, senior nursing students will travel to Costa Rica as part of the course Transition to Leadership & Professional Practice during January Interim (J-Term) 2025. The students will be accompanied by an Augustana Nursing faculty member.

To learn more about Augustana’s study-away programs, visit augie.edu/StudyAway.