When she signed up for her first education abroad experience, Kent State University graduate student Lilian “Lily” Keister purposely avoided selecting a European program.
“I felt like I could do Europe on my own, but I would need a guide to explain this part of the world to me,” she said.
Keister was taking the course, Equity and Justice in Higher Education, when Sarah Schmidt, Ph.D., an instructor in the School of Peace and Conflict Studies and assistant director of global education initiatives at Kent State at Stark, gave a presentation on the Kigali Summer Institute.
“I thought it sounded like a really good opportunity for my first trip outside the country,” she said. “I wanted the educational experience of both being abroad and learning about a country’s full history.”
Keister was one of seven Kent State students who took part in the education abroad in July.
Kent State has offered the education abroad course, Rwanda After the Genocide Against the Tutsi, since 2019. Known as the Kigali Summer Institute, the course takes place over three weeks in Rwanda. Developed and taught by Schmidt, the course explores the post-genocide reconstruction of Rwanda and issues related to peace and conflict in the context of the country’s history.
“I didn’t even know about the genocide before we got our advanced reading,” said Keister, originally from Junction City, Ohio, who is working on a master’s degree in higher education administration/student affairs in the College of Education, Health and Human Services, and serves as a graduate assistant.
The experience was better than she expected.
“To be completely honest, I went on this trip expecting nothing. This was my first time out of the United States and the last thing I wanted to do was set expectations for myself and not meet them. Because I came into this with an open mind, I think the entirety of the trip changed my perspective on life,” she said.
The group spent time visiting a reconciliation village, where perpetrators of the genocide live side by side with victims – those whose families they murdered.
“We learned about the reconciliation process and about forgiveness between perpetrators and victims, but something I think that will constantly be on my mind is the kindness that each and every citizen of this country shows to each other and to outsiders like me,” Keister said.
“I think often we get caught up in our own societal norms of holding grudges and simply not being nice or respectful to others and this experience will forever change the way I interact with others.”
Keister said she felt learning about the genocide, “no matter how atrocious,” would serve her well as she pursues a career in higher education administration. “We talk a lot about equity and justice in higher education,” she said, noting how a college education is becoming less available to many marginalized groups.
Keister, a first-generation college student, said she chose Kent State for its fashion design program, but quickly realized the major was not her true calling.
She switched majors to early childhood education, and again to educational studies, earning her bachelor’s degree in 2022, and remaining at Kent State to pursue her master’s degree. Switching majors twice meant Keister could not make time for an education-abroad program as an undergraduate, so she was excited for the chance to experience one now.
She is focused on a future where she works in student affairs and can help students like her, who do not come from families with college experience, to help attract those students and make education more attainable for them.
In addition to the learning, Keister said the trip offered interesting opportunities, including a day trip to the northern province, where the students saw volcanos and swam in a picturesque lake.
“I loved every aspect of this trip, but that will forever be the most memorable day,” Keister said. “I would absolutely recommend this trip to any student looking to expand their knowledge of other cultures and just experience life in other places.”