Roberts Wesleyan students complete their 2024 exchange program at ESEG.

A ESEG – Etapa Group College received, in May 2024, the Global Honors Program Brazil; a project developed in partnership with Roberts Wesleyan University (RWU), from New York, whose purpose is to promote cultural, professional, and academic exchange between students from the United States and Brazil.

The exchange group consisted of 15 outstanding students from Roberts Wesleyan and three university professors who experienced an immersion in Brazilian life and culture.

For two weeks, the students lived in the homes of welcoming Brazilian families and participated in various daily activities with the aim of learning more about our country and reflecting on different social scenarios. In addition, selected students from... ESEG They acted as "buddies" (daily colleagues) to assist the exchange students in their daily routine.

A true immersive exchange program goes beyond academics, allowing participants to develop a range of skills and insights, enabling them to become more well-rounded individuals through these experiences. To achieve this goal, the ESEG It promoted a rich and well-thought-out schedule to expand students' knowledge.

At the facilities of ESEG, The students had Portuguese classes to learn more about the language; history classes to understand in which scenarios colonial Brazil fits similarly to the USA; and classes about Law in Brazil. In addition, they participated in capoeira, dance and rhythm classes, cooking classes, and others to understand Brazilian culture.

Visitors to RWU They also participated in several guided tours. Some of these were to partner companies, where they had the chance to learn firsthand about the different management styles in each country. The visits involved... B3, Brazilian stock exchange, and HMUSP InCor. The students learned more about the Brazilian economy and finance, as well as gaining a better understanding of how Brazil's Unified Health System (SUS) works.

Julian Silva, student of Roberts Wesleyan University, He highlighted the classes and visits as one of his favorite moments during the program: “My favorite class so far has been Brazilian History. I really enjoyed learning about the past and how the country came about, how everything developed, and also what we have developed together. For example, our visit to the Ipiranga Museum was incredible because I was able to put history into perspective and combine what I learned with real-life experiences.”.

Hands-on experience for a complete learning experience.

The varied visits helped students apply their learning to their respective fields of study. Since education is global and multifaceted, the international students had numerous opportunities to explore Brazilian culture and its social and geographical differences, gaining knowledge beyond the classroom.

Among the various outdoor activities, they were able to watch a professional soccer game, visit several restaurants, explore an Atlantic Forest reserve to learn more about nature, and visit the beaches of Bertioga, on the coast of São Paulo.

As explained by Professor Jeffrey McPherson, director of RWU Honors Program, The event in Brazil met expectations in terms of general awareness. "One of the aims of Global Honors Program ”It’s about helping students see the world from a new perspective, so they realize they are not just U.S. citizens, but global citizens,“ the academic highlighted, adding: ’I think we all leave here understanding the importance of relationships in a new way. That’s really beautiful and powerful, because our goal is really to help students know what it means to be a global citizen. Now that they’ve had this experience, I believe they can say, ’I really know what that means.””.

By comparing what they learned in Brazil with their experiences in the U.S. – topics such as economics, health, education, and history – the exchange students were able to revisit their view of their own country. However, above all, this experience opened them up to a broader understanding of the world and how things can be different depending on the nation. As explained... Vanessa Martins, professor and manager of ESEG International, "These classes aimed to showcase the cultural influences and behavior of the Brazilian people. Aspects such as cooperation, resilience, and flexibility were highlighted and showed the Americans the richness of our people.".

Jeffrey He agrees and reinforces the essential idea for American students: “What we learned when we visited Brazil is that we are all human and we are all connected in really deep ways, but we also have the opportunity to see that you can choose how to live and how to organize everything. It’s amazing to see how it’s possible to make different choices than in the US and have beautiful and incredible experiences from that.”.

Christina Garber, student of RWU, This reinforces how the program achieved its purpose, enabling US students to leave Brazil with important insights. “Brazilian culture is different from American culture, but this taught me that in many aspects we are all the same. It was cool to see how certain things in Brazilian culture are different, but at the same time, very similar to those from where I come from. We are all people united, we have the same emotions. It was truly wonderful to feel connected with people from a continent totally different from mine, but to see that, in reality, we are not so different from each other,” the student reflected.

Rich exchange of experiences

The program concluded on May 28th. Divided into groups, the students presented various topics to their classmates. Brazil – such as cooking, daily life, dance, etc. The presentations demonstrated previous studies, experiences, and conclusions after experimentation.

Exchange students from Roberts Wesleyan University They were quite impressed by the presence of churches and religion in Brazilian daily life. Another aspect that was much discussed was the unity between friends and relatives and the notion of "family" being truly different from that common in the USA. The farewell was emotional, with several passionate conclusions about the differences in perspectives on life, promises of eternal friendships, and important memories.

The learning experiences, impressions, and new insights contributed to enriching the overall knowledge of both students and teachers. Christa Marshall, psychologist and professor at RWU, commented: “This surprised me, because I couldn’t imagine everything I would take away from this experience. As I teach Honors students, I can now speak from experience: 'Wait until you travel to Brazil' and 'wait until you see and experience everything.' Now, when I teach about it, I can speak with enthusiasm and create expectations in them.‘.

For students of ESEG, This experience and learning were also very important. The "buddies" participated in various activities, were able to mentor their colleagues and learn more about each other's cultures, in addition to bonding as students and having an international experience without leaving ESEG.

Vitor Neri, student of Economics at ESEG, who was one of the program's assistants, was thrilled with the opportunity. "I'm a completely different person after this project, after these internationalization experiences!" he commented, adding: "I think it's fantastic that the Faculty is investing in bringing other students here. Honestly, I hope this happens in other semesters, every year, so that more and more students can take advantage of these great experiences. It's a very rich exchange of knowledge with other people.".

The joy of participation and cultural unity was evident among the buddies on the day of the final presentation. There were speeches, gifts, and a performance of "You've Got A Friend in Me" by the Brazilians for their colleagues.

The good impression is mutual. Christa, [Name], who traveled outside the US for the first time, revealed that she arrived "trying to really keep an open mind and without expectations," but was pleasantly surprised by everyone she met. "We met these 'buddies' (colleagues) who kept us company in the many different activities we participated in. And, seriously, the hospitality, kindness and cordiality, the intimacy and mutual vulnerability I experienced from the ESEG staff were incredible," commented the professor. RWU with a beautiful smile on her face.

Students from Robert Wesleyan complete study exchange of 2024 at ESEG

Culture, education and friendship are the results of Global Honors Program Brazil 2024

ESEG – College from Stage Group received, on May of 2024, the Global Honors Program Brazil. This is a projects developed in a partnership with Roberts Wesleyan University (RWU), from New York, which the proposition is to promote the exchange on a cultural, professional and academic level to students from USA and Brazil.

The exchange group was composed of 15 Honor Hall students from RWU, as well as three professors, who experienced an immersion in Brazilian life and culture.

During two weeks, the students lived in host family homes and participated in diverse everyday activities with the intention of getting to know more about our country and reflecting on different social scenarios. Furthermore, selected pupils of ESEG acted as buddies to assist the exchange students on their routine.

A truly immersion on exchange goes beyond the academics and allows everyone evolved to develop various abilities and perceptions, allowing them to become more complex and complete people. To achieve this goal, ESEG promoted a rich chronogram, thought to expand the student's knowledge.

At ESEG, the students had Portuguese classes to learn more about the language; History classes to understand on which scenarios the Colonized Brazil is similar to USA; and classes about Law in Brazil. Besides that, they participated in Capoeira class, Dances and Rhythms, Culinary and some others to understand Brazilian culture.

The visitors from RWU also participated in different monitored visits. Some of those were to partner enterprises, where they had the chance to get close to the differentiated process of administration in each country. The visited included B3, the stock market of Brasil, and HMUSP InCor. The students learned more about Economics and Finances in Brazil besides understanding better how the SUS, Free and Unique Health Care System in Brazil.

Julian Silva, student from Roberts Wesleyan University, pointed out as one of his favorite moments on the program the classes and visits: “My favorite class, so far, was Brazilian History. I really liked to learn about the past and how the country came to be, as everything developed, and also what we developed in common. For example, our visit to Museu de Ipiranga (Independence Museum) was amazing because I could put History in perspective and combine that with what I learned in real life.”

Practical experience for a whole learning

Varied visitation helped students to apply what they learned in their respective study areas. As education is global and multifaceted, foreigners had diverse opportunities to explore Brazilian culture and the social and geographical differences, acquiring knowledge beyond the classroom.

Among the many external activities, they got to watch a professional soccer match, visit a lot of different restaurants, got to know a Rain Forest reverse to learn more about nature and they visited Brazilian beach of Bertioga, on São Paulo's coast.

As explained by professor Jeffrey McPherson, director of the Honors Program of RWU, the event on Brazil reached the expectations about general learning. “One of the goals of the Global Honors Program is to help the students to see the world from a new perspective so they can realize that they are not only citizens from the USA, but global citizens,” emphasized the teacher, that completed: “I believe we all will come out of here understanding in a new way how important relationships really are. That is really beautiful and powerful, because our goal is exactly to help this students know what it is like to be a global citizen. Now that we had this experience, I believe they can say 'I know what that means'.‘

By putting in perspective what they learned about Brazil with what they lived in the US – topics such as Economics, Health Care, Education and History – the exchange students were able to revisit the vision they have about their own country. However, above it all, this experience possibilities them to be open to a big and broader understanding of the world, and see how everything can be totally different depending on the nation. As said by Vanessa Martins, professor and manager of the ESEG International, "these classes aimed at showing the cultural influence on the behavior of Brazilian people. Aspects such as cooperation, resilience, flexibility, etc., were on a spotlight because it shows how rich our people are."“

Jeffrey agrees and reassures that essential idea for the US students: “What we learned when we visit Brazil is that we are all human, we are all connected in really profound ways… But we also have the opportunity to see that you can choose how to live and how to organize everything. It is amazing how it's possible to make difference choices than the USA made and have these beautiful and incredible experiences from this.”

Christina Garber, a student from RWU, reinforces how the program reached the goal, enabling the students from USA to come out of Brazil with important reflections. “Brazilian culture is very different from USA culture, but in many aspects that thought me that we are all equal. It was nice to see how some things in Brazilian culture are different, but, at the same time, they look a lot with where I come from. We are all people reunited, we have the same emotions. It was really wonderful to feel connected to people from a totally different continent from mine, but seeing that, in reality, we are not that different from each other,” analyzed the student.

Enriching exchange of experiences

The program finished in May, 28th. Shared in groups, the students presented to their colleagues a paper about diverse themes on Brazil – as Cuisine, Daily Life, Dance, etc. The presentations showed previous studies, actual experiences and conclusions after-experimenting.

The exchange students from RWU were really impressed by the presence of churches and religion on Brazilian day to day life. Another aspect often brought was the union between friends and families, as well as the notion of the family union being really different than those they're used to in the USA. The goodbyes were emotional with lots of passionate conclusions on different ways of viewing life, promises of eternal friendships and important memories.

The learning, impressions and discoveries contributed to the enrichment of the global knowledge of both students and teachers. Christa Marshall, psychologist and professor at RWU, commented: "This surprised me, because I couldn't have imagined everything I would bring from this experience. As I teach Honors students, I can now speak from experience: 'Wait until you travel to Brazil' and 'wait until you see everything and experience everything.' .

For ESEG students, this experience was also very important. The “buddies” participated in various activities, were able to guide their colleagues and get to know each other's culture better, in addition to coming together as students and having an international experience without leaving ESEG.

Victor Neri, student of Economy on ESEG, was one of the helpers on the program, and was excited about the opportunity. “I'm completely another person after this project, these internationalization experiences!”, he commented and added: “I think it's amazing that the Faculty invests in bringing other students here. I sincerely hope that it happens in other semesters, every year, that more and more students can take advantage of these good experiences. It's a very rich exchange of knowledge with other people.”

The joy of participation and cultural union was shown by the buddies on the day of the final presentation. There were speeches, gifts and a performance of “You've Got A Friend in Me”, by Brazilians, for colleagues.

The good impression is mutual. Christa, who traveled outside the US for the first time, revealed that she arrived “really trying to keep an open mind and no expectations”, but was pleasantly surprised by everyone she met. “We met these 'buddies' (colleagues) who kept us company in the most different activities we participated in. And, seriously, the hospitality, kindness and cordiality, intimacy and mutual vulnerability that I experienced from the ESEG staff were incredible‘, commented the RWU professor with a beautiful smile on her face.