Faculty: Dean Tatum Thomas and Dr. Dania Matos
Puerto Rico: Expressions of the Leadership-Identity Nexus is an immersive study abroad experience that invites students to explore how leadership is shaped by identity and culture. Through direct engagement with artists, archivists, business leaders, and civic organizers, students examine the relationship between identity and influence in Puerto Rico’s complex landscape. The program moves across the island, including time in coastal towns, mountain communities, and cultural hubs. Along the way, students sharpen their leadership lens through project-based learning, identity-based learning, and time to recharge in places of significance, including guided reflection on the beach. This is leadership learning grounded in place, purpose, and practice. Through immersive travel and reflective, project-based learning, this program positions Puerto Rico as a compelling case study in resilience, self-determination, and social transformation.
Pre-travel sessions provide foundations in leadership theory, archival research, identity-mapping, and cross-cultural communication strategies. During the on-site experience, students observe how leadership emerges in grassroots, cultural, and corporate settings by engaging directly with local leaders, organizers, and creatives. Identity-based reflective learning, and guided discussion help students analyze leadership through a multifaceted lens.
Students synthesize their learning through storytelling podcasts, peer-to-peer dialogue, a leadership simulation, and a capstone narrative canvas. This course satisfies multiple undergraduate and graduate learning outcomes and is open to students across the university.
Course Flyer (coming soon)