For Biology major Emma Sisson, it was making new connections.
For Political Science and History major Sarah Kuty, it was the chance to burnish foreign language skills.
For Adolescent Mathematics Education major Christopher Walent, it was overcoming challenges.
The three Keuka College students were among a dozen who took part in a recent Field Period® trip to Panama, where they experienced lessons in communication, confidence, empathy, and personal growth.
The students spent their Field Period in and around the mountain town of Boquete, Panama. They participated in cultural immersion experiences, Spanish-language instruction, and service-learning activities that challenged them to navigate unfamiliar situations and perspectives.
Biology major Emma Sisson poses with Nursing major Amelia Elliott.
“It was fascinating to see how people lived there,” said Christopher, a Henrietta resident. “The quality of life seemed so high because people really valued relationships and community. Everybody knew everybody.”
Students quickly noticed cultural differences. Taxi drivers stopped to greet friends along the road, shopkeepers indulged in leisurely chats with customers, and daily life seemed less rushed than in the United States.
But the most transformative experience for Christopher came during a visit to the Fundación Pro-Integración Capítulo de Boquete, which serves children and adults with disabilities. As someone who describes himself as “a talker,” Christopher struggled when both developmental and language barriers made communication difficult.
Adolescent Mathematics Education major Christopher Walent had the opportunity to challenge himself in multiple ways during the roughly nine-day visit.
“I couldn’t find words; I couldn’t find ways to communicate,” he said. “For the first time in my life, I felt like I couldn’t speak.”
Overwhelmed, he stepped away and spent time reflecting. He then looked for common interests – in the case of one youngster, it was Spider-Man – and, with the help of a Spanish translator, made connections.
“I’m glad I had that experience,” he said. “It taught me there are other ways to communicate and to build relationships.”
That lesson – learning to connect across differences – became a recurring theme throughout the trip.
With minors in Pre-Law, Child and Family Studies, Spanish language and Intercultural Studies, and American Sign Language, Sarah, a sophomore, viewed the trip through the lens of her future career goals. She hopes to become a family lawyer and sees multilingual communication as essential to serving diverse communities.
“I’m going to graduate trilingual,” said the Marietta, N.Y., resident. “I’ll be able to communicate in English, Spanish, and American Sign Language.”
Students were able to squeeze in a couple of recreational excursions, including ziplining.
The Panama experience strengthened both her confidence and her conviction. Keuka College students participated in eight hours of Spanish classes while in Panama, but Sarah also became an informal translator for classmates during daily interactions.
“It was amazing to step into a place where Spanish was the primary language,” she said. “You can’t just switch back to English when you don’t know a word. You have to work around it.”
Her language skills became especially meaningful during the group’s visit to the Boquete Fundación, where she communicated using English, Spanish, and ASL all within the span of half an hour, including interacting with a deaf and blind individual.
“It was mind-blowing,” she said.
The experience reinforced her belief that bilingual professionals are urgently needed in areas including legal representation.
“There are populations that need more support,” she said, noting conversations she has had with legal professionals about the shortage of Spanish-speaking attorneys and translators in cities like Syracuse.
Junior Emma Sisson of Batavia said the Field Period forced her outside her comfort zone before the group even left campus.
Keuka College students, from left, Molly Hart, Cassidy Gage, Sarah Kuty, and Elizabeth "Lizzy" Lascari pose outside the Feria de las Flores y del Cafe Internacional, a popular fair in Boquete, Panama.
“When I signed up for it, I didn’t know a single person going on the trip,” she said.
That uncertainty soon gave way to connection and camaraderie, as students navigated life in a different culture together.
Like Christopher and Sarah, Emma said the visit to the Boquete Fundación became one of the most meaningful parts of the experience.
“You could visibly see how excited the kids were just to have people there spending time with them,” she said.
She also cited a visit to assist at a facility for stray dogs as a valuable service-learning experience and took the opportunity to note the different aquamarine life, which piqued the biology major in her.
“It was interesting to see all the different wildlife,” she said.
Emma, who plans to attend medical school, also found herself observing differences in healthcare systems after a fellow student became ill during the trip.
“It was interesting to see how quickly the clinic operated, compared to here,” she said. “That was fascinating to me from a pre-med perspective.”
While the students experienced Panama’s landscapes, culture, and wildlife – and took time for recreational activities like riding a zip line and visiting the beach – they said the most lasting impact came from the personal growth that occurred through discovery, immersion, and service.
Christopher said the experience underscored the value of stepping into unfamiliar spaces.
“It was not at all what I expected,” he said. “But it taught me more about myself and about other people than I ever imagined.”
