International Cross-cultural Experiences
One thing that really makes our Psychology Department Faculty special is their breadth of cross-cultural experiences. Most of our full-time faculty members have visited several different cultures, whether through cross-cultural courses they taught here at Messiah or through missions projects completed outside of the college-setting.
Dr. Bechtold loves traveling and exposing students to other cultures. He especially enjoys leading Messiah Cross-Cultural trips, and has been able to take students to many different countries including Russia, Greece, Italy, Trinidad and Tobago, Costa Rica, the Netherlands, and Kenya.
Dr. Jacobsen participated in European study programs, allowing her to be submersed in European culture for that period of time. In addition, Dr. Jacobsen has co-led a Messiah Cross Cultural Course to Costa Rica. Dr. Jacobsen especially enjoyed the beauty of Costa Rica, from the tropical rainforests and the beaches to cloud forests and banana plantations. She deeply appreciated being able to share the experience with a “terrific group of students” from Messiah.
Dr. Jantzi has also led Messiah Cross-Cultural Courses, specifically one related to Alaska Native culture. The course focuses on the five native cultures of Alaska, and students are able to experience these cultures by taking classes taught by native speakers and by living with native families for a week. The most interesting memory from Dr. Jantzi’s trip was his opportunity to eat Muktuk, fermented raw whale blubber!
Dr. Lemmon has done short-term missions trips to Merida, Mexico which is on the Yucatan peninsula. The primary purposes of the trips were to provide teaching, support, and encouragement to the pastors and elders of the local churches.
Dr. Henry Danso
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