St. Martin Presents Paper at AAPLAC Conference

SALISBURY, MD---Dr. Gerald R. St. Martin, director of SSU's study abroad program in Cuenca, Ecuador and a faculty member in the Department of Modern Languages at Salisbury State University, recently presented a paper at the Association of Academic Programs in Latin America and the Caribbean (AAPLAC) Conference in Oaxaca, Mexico.

St. Martin spoke on "Service Learning in Ecuador/A Third World Paradigm," a study which resulted, in part, from a six- month sabbatical in Ecuador during spring 1999. His presentation addressed the special needs associated with service in Third World nations, outlining the procedures for site selection, stipulations with receiving agencies, language proficiency needed for various sites and logistical considerations specific to underdeveloped nations.

Having created a service learning course tailored to Cuenca's community-based organizations, and to the unique needs of Ecuador's disadvantaged populations, St. Martin intends to include a service learning component in all future courses offered in the study abroad program in Ecuador.