Theory-to-Practice Grant, ‘Environment, Permaculture, and Sustainability in Ecuador’
Learn how OWU’s Course Connections, Travel-Learning Courses, Theory-to-Practice Grants, and other programs prepare students for global citizenship and leadership and help them…Make the Connection.
Erika Kazi ’14
Name: Erika Kazi ’14
Majors: Environmental Studies & Sociology/Anthropology
Minor: Biology
Hometown: Wilton, Connecticut
Experience: Experience: Theory-To-Practice Grant, “Environment, Permaculture, and Sustainability in Ecuador,” Summer 2013
“By spending a few months living out of a backpack and working at a few farms, I could see the lectures that I had sat through for three years being put into play. It has helped shape the direction that I want to go in upon graduation and helped me learn my place in the world.
“I think all students need humbling experiences like this to understand just how fortunate we are to live in the United States and to attend a liberal arts institution like OWU. We really are lucky here – and it’s not just about recognizing it, it’s about what you are going to do to change that.
“I hope to eventually attend graduate school to learn more about social justice across the globe – and to learn how to create and implement appropriate technology where it is necessary.
“I’m no different than the people living down in Ecuador – I just happened to be born white, in a middle-class family, in the United States. The world is off balance, and I hope that our generation can figure out a way to reach equilibrium.”