Pre-Trip Reflections: Courtney Wege

Pre-Trip Reflections

Nicaragua has always been of interest to me! As a student I would volunteer with our PGL Auction each year and began to learn more about Leon. It’s Political history is fascinating and the culture is so rich; a Gettysburg student who visited Nicaragua with our college choir told me that she had never seen so many people cry when they heard their national anthem. Gettysburg and Leon, Nicaragua have been building a relationship for well over 28 years now and each year we are lucky to have Nicaraguan Artist visit the town of Gettysburg to speak to the community and visit our local schools to educate children about Nicaragua Art. The projects from PGL began with an Artist school, “Taller Artistico Xuchialt” and has continued to El Povenir; a coffee cooperative, Santa Rosa del Penon; a health care center and motherhood house, cross cultural exchanges between Nicaraguan College Students and Gettysburg students, summer internships, helping support education and transportation with many communities around Leon and most recently a water project at El Povenir. PGL has been able to send 6 delegations to Leon, from the college and the community, in 2008! We work very closely with Ofelia and Felice who live in Nicaragua and help organize the projects and the delegations.

This year is very special because we are celebrating our strong relationship through the years and we will use this blog and a short film to share our experience with more people. It will be interesting to see the effects of an election year and the economy on Leon and its people. I am extremely excited for this opportunity to learn and grow through our PGL project!!!

About Courtney

Immersion Programs Staff Leader: Courtney Wege, Associate Director of Admissions, Gettysburg Alum class of 2001, studied Psychology, Education, Spanish and Art. Currently working on her masters in Counseling. Supervisor of Admissions Tour guide programs and travels to Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Colorado and New Mexico.

Board member of El Centro and a member of the Adams County Art Council. She enjoys service, reading, traveling and anything outside; running, hiking, biking, swimming. Fun fact: Courtney is a Fourth Generation Gettysburg College Alum.