Endowment Offers Study-Abroad Opportunity in Mexico

Education students on the inaugural Carpenter Imbedded Global Classroom trip to Queretaro, Mexico, felt a connection with their neighbors that they will never forget and that will inform their future teaching practice.

An endowment gift from Don, BBA ’81, and Janette Carpenter made this international travel possible; it is Baylor University’s first fully funded study-abroad program embedded within a semester-long academic class.

A dozen undergraduates were selected through an application process to be in a section of the “Social Issues in Education” class. The experience is designed to prepare future teachers with a broad cultural competency through a study of comparative education systems.

“It was so important for us to be in Mexico,” said sophomore elementary education major Julianne Voigts. “Some of the local schools where we teach have more than 90 percent of the student population who come from a Latino background, most with families connected to Mexico. What better place is there to learn to identify with our future students?”

“We are grateful for this generous and insightful investment in the lives of Baylor students by the Carpenter family,” said Dr. Michael McLendon, Dean of the School of Education. “Their gift allows a diverse set of students to experience this innovative academic approach, with expert leadership from our faculty.”