GEAR UP Builds Global Leaders
A week in Puerto Rico expanded the horizons of sixteen Kansas City, Kansas students who participate in The University of Kansas GEAR UP program.
KU GEAR UP partnered with Zion Leadership Group, an international instructional design firm that focuses on internships, global leadership symposiums, career readiness, cultural and language programs, and international immersion experiences.
The GEAR UP students from Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools participated in a life-changing opportunity through Zion’s Puerto Rico Global Leadership Symposium included workshops on global communication, team building, networking, and the freelancing/entrepreneur economy.
DAY ONE — Travel & Distrito T-Mobile
New experiences started for many KU GEAR UP students before they even left Kansas City Airport because several shared that they had never been on an airplane before.
“To be honest, I was going to say ‘no’ to the trip but going this far was scary because it was my first time on a plane but I am glad I took the opportunity to get on and come here, I really love it.”
Once the group landed in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and had time to settle into their hotel, it was time to take a few pictures for social media to announce, ‘we made it!’ then explore Distrito T-Mobile for dinner.
“Originally I thought I would do a virtual tour, but then I got an email with a schedule, so this has to be the real deal… This trip will allow me to travel more. It makes me want to expand and go see the world more.”
DAY TWO — Ecotourism
Waking up early, students traveled by bus with a knowledgeable tour guide who shared the important cultural history of Puerto Rico on the way to several rainforest hikes and waterfall swimming.
“I never in my life thought I’d be hiking on a trail and going into rivers. I’ve swum in a swimming pool, but swimming in a river was totally out of my element. It was a very beautiful place that we don’t get to see in Kansas.”
“I’m not a water type of person but I think it was cool for me to face my fears and go to the other side [of the waterfall]. I did a bunch of things I never done before and things I would never think about doing.”
After the first hike, it was time for a lunch break that allowed students to try new fruits fresh off trees, a traditional meal, and refreshing homemade popsicles while enjoying a hidden waterfall.
“The fruit was awesome, I loved it! We tried so many different fruits like guava, starfruit, and all of those types. It tasted amazing, it was natural, you pick it off the tree and that was cool to me.”
“The trip was informative because we learned a lot of things about Puerto Rican backgrounds and food. I really liked the chicken we had, I don't eat beans but I ate them, it was really good. The fruit was amazing! I’m use to eating the same fruits like gapes and strawberries but this was amazing. I like Puerto Rican food better than food back home.”
“I liked the grandma-style food. With the plantain and chicken and rice, it was really good.”
The second hike of the day had Kansas City students walking through knee-deep water, laughing at how Kansas cows couldn’t move up the steep hills in the same way that neighboring Puerto Rican cows were, and jumping off a small cliff.
“The trip was adventurous because we did a lot of activities like getting in the water. I didn’t expect myself to get in the water fully clothed with shoes and socks! But I did it and it was an awesome experience.”
“I definitely liked hiking because it was new. Although it was scary because I didn’t want to get injured. I guess it was the thrill of exploring and of new things. It was fun, I would do it again for sure.”
The last adventure on this outdoor day experiencing ecotourism was a nighttime kayak journey down a dark river to a bioluminescent bay where dragging your hand through the warm lagoon made it glow blue and green.
DAY THREE — History of The City
Another early morning allowed students to start the day walking down the Old San Juan cobblestone roads lined with colorful houses.
“Walking around Old San Juan, that was a really cool place because its not something you see all the time. To see a different area that takes you back to a different time period, walking through the historic street to see how people use to live, how it differs from now, it’s really cool to see historical buildings.”
“How they [tour guides] describe the Taíno [Indigenous inhabitants of Puerto Rico] and how they interacted with the Spaniards and how it differed from how we see it in history for the United States. Coming here and seeing a different history is very eye-opening and brings out a new perspective.”
During the historical walking tour, students even had the opportunity to try a favorite local snack — Limbers, a Puerto Rican icy tread that was a perfect stop to cool off in the shade.
After some free time for lunch, and of course souvenir shopping, it was time to get students’ feet moving again with dance. A lively bomba workshop taught students about both the traditional dance and musical style of Puerto Rico.
“Learning a new and different type of music and dance is very intriguing. The best part… I liked seeing how everyone came up to the middle and danced.”
“It got me out of my comfort zone, I don’t really dance. But I was paying a lot of attention to the drummers and how they kept up the beat and got people moving. I was really impressed by that.”
“When I was younger I would watch Bomba on YouTube so it was amazing that I got to do that and I got to play with the drums after.”
While this trip was full of new experiences and knowledge, one stop was one that kids from Kansas have to experience — the beach. The group visited the ocean, for the first time for many students, right as the sun was setting. Students ran through the powerful waves, wrote messages in the sand, and took postcard sunset photos.
“The beach was amazing, it has always been a dream of mine since I was a little kid to go there so finally making that happen, especially before my senior year, it was amazing.”
“At first I was running around and then I found it was cool to draw in the sand, I actually wrote KU GEAR UP so I was having fun in the sand.”
DAY FOUR — Global Leadership Symposium
Most of this adventurous week was spent outside, but on the fourth day, a very rainy day, students spent it indoors attending Zion’s Global Leadership Symposium.
Through interactive workshops facilitated by Zion’s own Adrian R. Rosado, students learned about global communication, team building, networking, and how to enter the freelancing/entrepreneur economy. Zion hosted the CEO of Buzzzy, inc., Antonio Lopez, to speak with students about how to make money from skills that they already had and ultimately how to turn those into a career.
“I learned a lot today. I learned about business, networking, and how networking is essential for you to grow as a person… Connecting with new people that you might not have connected with is very important.”
“I loved the seminars! It was really fun to know the information that can help you get further in life, like freelancing, it’s really good to help motivate people to start their own businesses. The leadership part was a little bit hard.. but it was a team effort that was really fun. I liked when he talked about networking because it is a big part of any job.”
“I learned that the people around us are important to us because we never know where they could take us. It was amazing speaking to people and learning new things and learning about building a company.”
DAY FIVE — Ending Strong
Although the last day of the trip included flying from San Juan to Kansas City, Zion Leadership Group fit in even more cultural experiences for KU GEAR UP students. A salsa dance lesson overlooking the ocean got students moving before a long day of traveling and the last stop before the airport was making local vejigante masks, an important cultural experience in the town of Loíza.
“You have to have an open mindset because once you do certain things like this, go to a new country or state or where, you have to have an open mindset — be open to new cultures, be open to new people, be open to make new friends.”
“I would suggest this program to anyone interested in another culture or going out of the United States, or just anyone who wants to learn about people. This experience prepares me for the future because I’ll be more prepared to look at other parts of the world.”
The University of Kansas Center for Educational Opportunity Programs is proud to partner our GEAR UP program with Zion Leadership Group which works with students at the pre-college and college levels. Zion has partnered extensively with federally funded programs including GEAR UP and TRIO programs across the country to provide once-in-a-lifetime experiences to students, staff, directors, and administrators.
