School of Education returns to Kenya for study abroad experience

ISSUED: 22 July 2024
MEDIA CONTACT: Hans Fogle

SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV - For a second consecutive year, students from Shepherd University's School of Education spent three weeks working and studying in Kenyan schools.

Dr. LeAnn Johnson, associate professor of education, along with education majors Grace Catrow, Hedgesville, West Virginia; Elizabeth Cook, Oviedo, Florida; and Cheyenne Hooker, Romney, West Virginia, traveled to Nairobi, Kenya, from May 24-June 16.

Working in a collaborative agreement with Daystar University, Catrow, Cook, and Hooker spent their mornings teaching for the Daystar Mulandi Transformational Primary and Secondary Schools.

In the afternoons, the Shepherd students would return to Daystar University's campus to sit in education classes with Daystar students.

Johnson's goal for this trip was to expose her students to an educational system within a different culture.

"We get lots of students from other countries in [the American] school system, so our education majors get to develop cultural sensitivity," said Johnson. "They can think from that perspective and provide proper resources and information to students and families coming from different cultures and other countries."

For students like Cook, leading a class in a different country has transformed her teaching practices.

"We have such an abundance of resources at our fingertips [in the United States]," said Cook. "It was impactful to learn how to be resourceful. I had to think outside of the normal education perimeters to reach kids because they did not have access to what we would consider standard classroom items. I know these experiences will impact my teaching style forever."

In addition to their work in the primary and secondary schools, Johnson and her students also worked on the School of Education's ongoing library project, building shelves and donating book titles to various Kenyan school libraries.

The funding for this project comes from a GoFundMe Johnson created, "Building Libraries in Kenya Elementary Schools."

This year, the group supported a newly constructed library at the Mavoko SNP Primary School. This addition is the third school library that has received donations and resources from Johnson's initiatives.

"This [third library] was quite an ambitious project," explained Johnson. "The United Nations helped build the structure, and it's a beautiful facility which was quite amazing because the school is very under-resourced. But this school has over 1,700 students, which is three times larger than the schools we had previously done."

Despite the library's larger scale, Johnson and her students were able to purchase and install shelving as well as donate book titles for the Kenyan students to enjoy.

Beyond their work and service in the public schools, the quartet learned about Kenya's nature and culture with a walking safari, a trip to the spice market, and camel rides.

They also assisted in constructing a water dam for an underprivileged community.

Johnson has already begun planning with Daystar University for the School of Education's next trip in 2025, discussing ways to make future collaborations even more beneficial.

For Catrow, Cook, and Hooker, the trip to Kenya will leave a lasting impression on their lives and careers as educators.

"I think about Kenya every day," said Cook. "I left a big piece of my heart in Africa."

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