July 15, 2015- Welcome to the second installment of our blog series where we introduce you to…us! Check out who we are at VT Engage, what we do, and why we serve.
Today, meet Eliza Wethey, our new Associate Director for Global Engagement, who joined us in May 2015. You’ll learn what brought her to Blacksburg, her vision for our global service immersion experiences, and hear about some of her hidden talents.
This interview was edited for clarity and brevity.
VT Engage: What caught your eye about this position?
Eliza: I was most interested in working with students in global service immersion. It seemed to tie right into what I was doing in Peru at the time, since I was working with a local nonprofit and also managing its volunteer program in which students engaged individually and as groups similar to VT Engage’s service immersion trips.
Through my experiences in Peru, I was able to see the really amazing impact that international service can have on students.
What does service mean to you?
I think to me it means working with the community to develop a sustainable project that serves them in a sustainable way. But then on the other side having students be able to engage and really become a part of their community.
What have your first impressions of Blacksburg and Virginia Tech been?
It’s really small. (Laughs) It’s smaller than I thought because I was only here for about a day, so I didn’t really get to see it. But everyone seems friendly and helpful, and it’s just really beautiful.
You’re in a town but you’re also really close to nature. I don’t think I’ve ever really lived in the U.S. somewhere like this. So I’m excited to do some hiking and get out and explore.
You spent eight years in Peru. What were you doing there?
Mostly I was working with two different organizations. First was an organization called ProWorld, where I was working with community partners to implement small scale community development projects with international students. In addition I developed their study abroad programs in Cusco and developed internship and group immersion programs for university groups based in Cusco. I then spent about 9 months in Central America working to set up community partnerships there.
For the past 2 years I was working an organization called Globalteer. I started out developing new community partnerships for them both in Peru and in Latin America. One of the most interesting partners to work with was a local dog shelter working to develop awareness around street dogs in Peru.
I then moved to focus on managing their year-round afterschool program for 3 to 14 year olds. The program was supported through the work of volunteers, so I was working with the local teachers to find ways to make our program more sustainable. Unfortunately, voluntourism has become very popular in Peru and especially Cusco.
I’ve seen a lot of projects that were created just for volunteers and then had really unfortunate endings because they weren’t community-driven projects.
The people who set them up were more concerned about the volunteers’ needs and not the community’s.
One of the projects Eliza worked on in Costa Rica was conservation-oriented, helping preserve the sea turtle population. (Right: a close-up of the little guys.)
Had you known for a long time that you wanted to work internationally?
I first got interested in Latin America specifically when I was in college. My first semester, I took a class on indigenous communities of Brazil. And from there I got really interested in Latin America, and I traveled to Chile and then I did a semester abroad my junior year in Peru. I got really interested in indigenous communities in Peru, so I went back several times and then spent a year there after university teaching English and working at a local nonprofit which focused on preserving the tradition of weaving. And then I just kept going back.
I have a passion for both Latin America but also working in local communities. The international education part sort of came later. Working with communities can be really rewarding, but it’s also very difficult work especially when you are not from the particular community or country, it can be much more difficult to gain trust.
Working with students in the context of Latin America, I was able to help guide them through the process of doing sustainable service work as well as learning.
You’re also able to often make a much bigger impact in a shorter amount of time.
How’s the culture shock been since you’ve been back?
(Laughs) Yeah it’s been a little bit hard getting back into the U.S. culture. I think when I came in January, you all thought I was crazy. I’ve been back for a month now so I feel a bit more accustomed to things.
But I still, I don’t know, I want to greet everyone with a kiss and I’m not quite used to the 8 to 5 “work in your office culture” yet. The cereal aisle in the grocery store with over 20 types of cereal can be a bit overwhelming at times. There are lots of little things. But I’m getting there.
What do you miss most about Peru?
I miss the people. I have a pretty small family so in Peru it was nice to be part of a larger community. People invite you to be a part of their family. So even if you’re not related to them by blood, you feel like you’re part of their family. So it’s just different being back here, a different sense of community.
Why do you think students should go on these trips?
I think specifically the international trips can have a pretty profound impact on them as people. For me going on an international service trip allowed me to become passionate about an area of the world but also a specific topic.
I think just gives you a whole new perspective on the world, on what we have. We’re fortunate in many ways in how we can give back to a community.
It doesn’t matter what major or what background you’re coming from, participating in these trips can really make a huge impact on who you are as a person.
You mentioned building language skills. What advice do you have for people who are shy about practicing when they go?
I would say that you just need to do your best. It doesn’t matter if your language skills aren’t very good. People will be very understanding and welcoming even if you can only say a few words. I think the fact that you try is the first step.
I think you have to get over your fear of saying something wrong and just start talking. I know it took me a little while to get over that fear when I first went abroad but when I went, I stayed with a home stay family. And the only way I could eat (laughs) was to try to speak with them.
Do you have any memorable trips that you’ve led during your time coordinating these trips?
One trip I always remember was when we went to this really remote community that didn’t have running water or electricity, and most of the people there just spoke Quechua, an indigenous language.
We stayed in a school with about ten college students and we did art education at the primary school. I think there were maybe 40 children we worked with- these were kids who didn’t have much access to books, internet or TV. They had their own school books, but not anything else. No books, internet or TV for pleasure.
It was amazing how we were able to communicate through something like art. And how creative the children were.
We asked them to make their own book, and so even though they may not have ever even seen a children’s book themselves, they were able to create one just from their imagination.
Do you have any hidden talents, and would you like to demonstrate for us?
Well, I’m an excellent huayno (pronounced why-no) dancer. Ut’s a dance they do in Peru. I don’t think it’ll really come in handy here, but if we ever do some sort of talent show, I could dance for you.
I also danced with a group for a festival that happened every year through the weaving cooperative that I used to volunteer with. It has a really fun costume.
Other members of Eliza’s family got into Peru’s festivals as well.
If you could go anywhere where would you want to travel to? Or what was one of your favorite trips?
I think one of my favorite trips I ever took was to Guatemala. I visited some communities around Lake Atitlan and stayed with a family there.
It was just a really amazing experience being with the family and learning about their life and the weaving there. I’ve always wanted to go to Southeast Asia to maybe Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand.
What do you think captured your attention about weaving?
I think it’s a way to become connected with the community because weaving is so important to their lives, especially in Peru.
My background in anthropology lead me to want to integrate with the community and share something with them. By learning to weave it meant that I could relate to their daily lives.
If you could go to any time in history or witness a specific historical event, where what would it be?
I think there are a lot of things I’ve always been interested in. What I’ve always wondered is would it have been like to have witnessed the Inca Civilization.
They have left an incredible legacy behind with their palaces and cultural traditions but it would have been incredible to be a part of their lives and see what daily life was like.
I’ve also always been interested in understanding the encounter between the Incas and the Spanish. Why did the Incas trust that these crazy Spanish on horseback were potentially gods? Why did they think that? Why did they let them conquer them? There were only about 50 Spanish and there were thousands of Incas.
In a year from now, what would you have like to have accomplished or learned, or where do you see this program going?
First, I want to learn about VT Engage and how we’re doing our community work now. Because it seems like it’s a really well respected center on campus and nationally so I just want to learn more about what you all are already doing, and then build on that. It seems like the Dominican Republic trip is already a great trip. So what can we learn from how that trip has been really successful?
I don’t want to go out and create 10 trips in a year, but I think it would be really great if we could get more people interested in international service on campus and not for credit.
We are also hoping to start a trip in Peru for May 2016 and then slowly grow the international side of our program.
Originally from Columbia, South Carolina, Eliza holds an M.S. in anthropology and development from the London School of Economics, along with a B.A. in anthropology and Latin American Studies from Tulane.
Interested in joining us in Peru next May? Join our email listserv to get updates! Email engage.vt.edu to added or to get in touch with us if you have any questions about the trip.