Dan Kooima
Dan Kooima says Creighton’s international travel and study program enhanced his global understanding and made him “who I am.”
When Dan Kooima arrived at Creighton from his native South Dakota, he found a gateway to the world.
During the next four years, his participation in Creighton University’s Global Scholars program took him to Sydney, Australia; the Dominican Republic; and Kampala, the capital city of the east African nation of Uganda.
The Global Scholars program is designed to blend international study and travel into a four-year curriculum aimed at building global citizens.
“I got so much out of all of these opportunities,” Kooima says. “I would not be who I am without them. Each time I went somewhere my worldview got intensely larger.”
Students live and study among a variety of cultures and people, study languages, complete specialized coursework and research and participate in internships while experiencing the unique social and service life of each location.
Clearly, the cultures and lifestyles of western-oriented Australia, the Hispanic-flavored Dominican Republic and the natural wonders of Uganda provided a kaleidoscopic experience.
“Australia was great exposure to feeling free in a big city and meeting many people from many nations,” Kooima says. “The Dominican Republic and Uganda showed me totally different ways of being. The way people think about time there is totally different. It is much more about spending time where you are and focusing on the people you are with.
“Going into the world with an open heart and mind has allowed me to grow in amazing ways I never could have imagined.”
Kooima’s sojourns in the three nations were active experiences. In Australia he pursued his studies of cultural anthropology and political science while traveling around the country. His time in the Dominican Republic involved travel, learning about the country and serving a rural community by helping to build an aqueduct.
In Uganda, he worked with Reach a Hand, Uganda, a nonprofit organization that works to expand education and resources regarding the sexual and reproductive health rights of people between the ages of 12 to 24, including HIV/AIDS awareness.
His capstone research project is titled “Policies and Realities of Farmers Working Through the Transition to Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture.”
