AB
Austin Borton
  • early childhood education
  • Class of 2017
  • Dayton, OH

Austin Borton Gathers with Group on AU Campus to Discuss Grant and Rio de Janeiro Trip

2015 Nov 3

Eight Ashland University undergraduate students as well as eight full-time teachers in the humanities and social sciences around the state of Ohio gathered at Ashland University on Oct. 23 to discuss their trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, during July of 2016 to study accessibility and inclusion within a Brazilian context.

The trip was made possible when Ashland University was awarded funding for a Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad (GPA) grant titled "Accessing Carioca Culture through the Lens of Disability." AU Dwight Schar College of Education associate professors Dr. Carla Abreu-Ellis and Dr. Jason Brent Ellis received the award from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of International and Foreign Language Education.

The award, in the value of $67,575, will allow the 16 pre-service education students and current K-12 teachers to join Carla and Jason Ellis for the trip to Rio de Janeiro.

Austin Borton of Dayton, OH, is one of eight Ashland University undergraduate students who was selected for the trip after submitting an essay and going through an interview process.

Borton is majoring in early childhood education with 4th and 5th Grade Endorsement, and minoring in religion and Online/Technology Education. She is the daughter of Nick and Teri Borton of Dayton. Borton is a 2013 graduate of Archbishop Alter High School.

Abreu-Ellis said one of the goals of Ashland University's Strategic Plan is that "Ashland University will promote and strengthen student's views of people and global issues in an environment that prepares students to value other cultures, traditions and languages as global citizens."

"This project prepares current pre-service teachers and current state of Ohio teachers, many of them Ashland University alumni, to value Brazilian culture, the traditions that people from that culture embrace, and functional use of the Portuguese language," she said.

Ellis also noted that the strategic plan states, "Ashland University will transform students into involved alumni through the creation of opportunities for purposeful student/alumni interaction."

"This opportunity will enhance interactions between students and alumni, since both groups will be part of the same cohort going through the same experiences while abroad," he said. "This will create space for current teachers to provide a seasoned perspective and pre-service teachers to share a fresh view of current educational theory and practices. This exchange will be further enhanced by interacting with current Brazilian teachers and engaging in project activities."

Ellis, who is project curriculum specialist for the grant, said, "We are extremely happy to be funded for this project since it will provide our students and local educators in the community the opportunity to learn another language - Portuguese -- and experience a different culture's concept of disability and accessibility."

Abreu-Ellis, who is the project director, explained how the seminar abroad program will work. "The selected participants will spend four weeks in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil," she said. "They will attend a series of seminars on accessibility and inclusion provided by leading Brazilian theorists, professionals and practitioners. "We were thrilled when we received the grant's technical review and found out that we had received 100 out of 105 possible points on the proposal," Abreu-Ellis said. "This is a competitive grant and we are honored to have been selected."

Ashland University, ranked in the top 200 colleges and universities in U.S. News and World Report's National Universities category for 2016, is a mid-sized, private university conveniently located a short distance from Akron, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. Ashland University (www.ashland.edu) values the individual student and offers a unique educational experience that combines the challenge of strong, applied academic programs with a faculty and staff who build nurturing relationships with their students. ###