Study abroad alumni present research at Caribbean conference
Wednesday, October 6, 2004
By: Holly Peterson

Cuba and Nicaragua alumni present to academic audience at St. Kitts and Nevis

Julie Corbett and Emily Bloemker, alumni of SIT Study Abroad’s programs in Nicaragua and Cuba, respectively, presented research at the Caribbean Studies Association (CSA) conference in St. Kitts and Nevis in May. Corbett and Bloemker shared research conducted as part of their Independent Study Projects (ISPs) with SIT.

As a study abroad student in Nicaragua in the spring of 2003, said Corbett, “I worked on a project there that was solely looking at adolescent aspirations and community in Puerpo Cabezas, Nicaragua.” Corbett continued her research as a senior at Denison University in Ohio. “I did a comparative study, comparing high schoolers in Vermont with my research in the third world.”

Corbett found that adolescents in both communities felt extremely stressed, and felt a high level of pressure to succeed, though for different reasons. In the US, said Corbett, the pride of a family rests on an adolescent, while in Nicaragua the economic well-being of an entire family can depend on one child’s education.

Of the conference, Corbett said “it astounded me to see the amount of research that’s done in the Caribbean, by researchers from London, Oxford, Harvard, and people from the islands.” At the same time, said Corbett, “it was reassuring to see how my research compared, and to see that it could hold its own.”

Bloemker studied with SIT in Cuba in the fall of 2003. “I looked at how the Cuban medical system treats pregnancy in unstable social situations, such as lack of food or abusive relationships,” she said.

Bloemker found that the government tries to remove women from risky situations during their pregnancies, and although this policy results in healthy pregnancies, women are often returned to the same situation following pregnancy. Although Cuba lacks resources to deal with this problem, Bloemker said, the government is training social workers to intervene.

Now a senior at Washington University of St. Louis, Bloemker said of the conference, “I had a true academic experience in that I was able to share my research with a panel of others who had done health oriented research, and to be able to field questions from them afterwards.”

The Caribbean Studies Association (CSA) is an independent professional organization devoted to the promotion of Caribbean studies from a multidisciplinary, multicultural point of view. The CSA founded in 1974 by 300 Caribbeanists now has over 1100 members throughout the world.

Read more about Caribbean Studies at SIT Study Abroad: http://www.sit.edu/studyabroad/themes/caribbean.html
Read more about the Caribbean Studies Association: http://itech.fgcu.edu/csa/
Contact Julie Corbett: jules8605@yahoo.com
Contact Emily Bloemker: ejbloemk@artsci.wustl.edu