Students at the Alianza Americana School in León, Nicaragua, a partner organization of Quinnipiac for more than 15 years, are partnering with Quinnipiac students to build relationships, learn about each other’s cultures and work on their English-speaking skills.

Nathaniel Rivard ‘22, a biomedical science major, joined the language exchange program last year because of his love for tutoring and teaching. His involvement in other globally connected programs sparked his interest in getting involved on campus.

The program, which starts on October 18, is seeking student volunteers who are active collaborators looking for a way to help others on a global scale while also looking for a non-formal leadership role on campus.

“It gives our students the opportunity to collaborate and learn about the Nicaraguan culture as well as teach other students ours,” Rivard said.

Students are recommended to allocate an hour each week to meet with a student assigned to them from Nicaragua over Zoom.

“I know when I did this last semester, I found that a lot of the students watch American TV shows and hear things that they don’t completely understand. This culture exchange allows them to come up with any questions that they may have, any lessons they need help with and for us to help them with it,” Rivard said.

Students can formulate their experience with this program however they wish – whether they want to continue their relationship with the students past the duration of the program or not, providing as much or as little personal information as they are comfortable with.

“There’s no better way to learn English than to have conversations,” explained Rivard.

Rivard encourages students to get involved with this unique program right here on campus.

Students interested should email Nathaniel Rivard at nrivard@quinnipiac.edu.