E
ast Hall never looked so good
to Eric Cupp ’16 and Luke
Scheel ’16. The Manchester
roommates returned from a
January session trip to Jamaica
with a new appreciation for hot
showers, soft beds and all the
food they want in Haist Commons.
That gratitude was one of the lessons Professor Brad
Yoder and Soccer Coach Dave Good hoped they would
learn.
“Growing up internationally gave me a different
perspective in my life,” says Good, whose parents were
missionaries in Nigeria. Perspective and a deeper sense
of gratitude often are valuable outcomes for Manchester
students who participate in the University’s study abroad
programs.
VIDEO
See the Jamaica video
20 |
Eric and Luke were among 27 Manchester students
– all members of MU’s men’s soccer team – who
took Yoder’s Human Conflict course in Jamaica and
completed service projects at the Maranatha School for the
Deaf. The course is open to any Manchester student, but
this time only soccer team members signed up. Completing
the MU group were Good’s wife, Lois Baldwin ’72 Good,
his brother, Ron – who has lived in Jamaica – and assistant
soccer coach Corey Brueggeman ’12.
In between study and service, the students visited museums,
galleries, the theater, a coffee farm, a university campus and
an old plantation. They met international reggae star Sizzla,
and sprinter Yohan Blake, the world’s second-fastest man.
They hiked and swam, saw mountains, waterfalls and jungle.
One student saw the ocean for the first time in his life.
And, of course, they all played soccer.
Good, Manchester’s longtime soccer coach and
groundskeeping supervisor, leads a group to Jamaica every
fourth January so that all of his student-athletes can have
the experience once while they’re in college. Yoder joined
Good’s trip for the first time, though the MU sociologist
and social worker has traveled, studied or lived in 37
countries, including Jamaica many times.