The Lesson Lies in the Journey

If travel is always a step into the unknown, then a dozen Suffolk students took a sizable one last May when they climbed into several long, skinny canoes on the banks of the Chagres River. Fresh from finals, they’d come to Panama for an immersive service-learning trip sponsored by the Center for Community Engagement (CCE), to explore how the country’s identity has been shaped by its colonial history, by slavery and the forced displacement of its Indigenous peoples, and by the Panama Canal—from the human toll of its construction to its global economic impact. The goal, says CCE Director Dr. Trina Bryant, is enabling students to “listen to communities, learn from their histories and cultures, and work alongside them to support their goals.” The students’ canoe journey took them through a lush rainforest to the village home of the Emberá, one of Panama’s Indigenous communities. The students, who arrived with supplies for a community museum the Emberá are building, spent the afternoon visiting with the residents, sharing a meal of fish and fresh fruits, playing with the children, and learning about their lives. “If you have the chance to travel and learn firsthand,” says senior Aylin Avalo, “always take it. So much is left out of history books. There is so much more you learn from people who can share their history.”