News
A Laker's Journey to India
August 14, 2019
Learn More About the Integrative Studies Program
By Emma Schrider
For Grand Valley State student Kailey Rubinas, traveling to India for an internship was both figuratively and literally like jumping onto a moving train. “They said we had to just run and jump,” Kailey says, recounting flinging herself through the open door of a bouncing train car this past winter.
The adventure of a lifetime began for Kailey with a weeklong study abroad opportunity arranged by NMC’s International Services and Service Learning office in collaboration with the Go India Initiative. In December of 2018, Kailey took the leap, spending a month working with Go India and Angel Express tutoring young children and sinking into the beautiful commotion that is Mumbai.
There is something marvelous in Kailey’s description of India’s vibrant discord, its random changes, and most of all its ability to make you go along with its plans rather than your own. But the uncertain nature of her adventure arose long before her departure from the United States.
“I wasn’t planning on getting [academic] credit,” Kailey says, detailing how Kate Fairman, Faculty Advisor of Integrative Studies Program, and the team at GVSU’s Traverse City Regional Center worked closely with her, even securing financial aid toward her trip’s costs. Her advisors supported her in creating a school schedule that would allow her to complete her semester coursework while being overseas and experiencing India to the fullest. “They’ve gone pretty out of their way to make this happen for me,” she says, impressed and grateful.
Kailey’s plans would not only take her far from her family, but the costs of travel included Malaria shots and other expensive medications. Completing her degree in Northern Michigan was important to her, as was the advantage of living at home. With the time away and the financial burden, finishing a degree on time might have been impossible if not for the work of the GVSU team in Traverse City.
Kailey’s journey has been celebrated by her instructors since her return in January, and she is often called on to share her experiences with her classmates. A willing ambassador of Indian culture, she describes that the reverse culture shock has been overwhelming at times, having observed a philosophical divide regarding materialism and poverty.