21 FAMU students and staff traveled to the verdant parish of St. Mary, Jamaica, for week long service-learning project and cultural emersion and leadership development. In many ways the trips was a passport to a new way of seeing the world.
The journey, a service-learning project organized by the university’s Office of University Housing in partnership with the Division of Student Affairs, transformed a Jamaican schoolyard into a dynamic classroom. Here, lessons in sustainable agriculture, cultural humility, and adaptive leadership were taught not from textbooks, but through the sweat and collaboration of building a hydroponic garden and mentoring local children.
“I’ve definitely become more open-minded,” said Sydney Fredrick, a junior nursing student for whom the trip was a first venture outside the United States. “Being able to see how other communities live and understanding challenges like food insecurity from a different perspective really broadened my horizons.”
The centerpiece of the initiative was a partnership with Jacks River Primary School. FAMU students spent days reading with children, leading physical activities, and installing a hydroponic gardening system. This hands-on project, which will provide the school with a sustainable food source, served as a practical extension of FAMU’s legacy in agricultural sciences and community empowerment.
“We made a lot of great progress,” said Antoneia Roe, associate vice president for Student Affairs, who helped lead the trip. “It is great to watch our students bring what they are learning in the classroom out here into the field.”
The work required improvisation. When planned materials were unavailable, students and staff pivoted, embodying the resilience they had come to learn about. Khensani Duncan, a junior environmental science student who is a native of Jamaica, found the experience deeply instructive.
“This trip taught me how to think on my feet,” Duncan said. “It pushed me to be more flexible and taught me a lot about working with others.” She saw her role as being a “bridge” between her homeland and her fellow students experiencing its vibrancy for the first time.
University leaders framed the trip as a core part of FAMU’s mission to cultivate engaged citizens. William Hudson Jr., vice president for Student Affairs, said such experiences develop “globally aware, socially responsible leaders” who gain “stronger civic attitudes, deeper cultural intelligence and a clearer understanding of global needs.”
Beyond the worksite, the week was deliberately woven with cultural threads. Students explored local markets and visited historical sites. In one memorable session, award-winning dance instructor Michael “Goose TooKool” Thompson led them through the history and steps of Reggae and Dancehall, turning rhythm into a lesson on cultural expression.
Housed at Sol’s Oasis, a wellness retreat on Jamaica’s north coast, the group found time for reflection amidst the service. For Herb Johnson, director of University Housing, witnessing students—many on their first international trip—navigate this journey was a powerful reminder of the value of experiential learning.
“They returned not only as student leaders,” Johnson observed, “but as Global Rattlers.”
As the plane descended back into Tallahassee, the students carried more than souvenirs. They brought home a renewed sense of purpose, a toolkit of adaptive skills, and the indelible memory of the mark they left—and the one Jamaica left on them.
“Getting on the ground, getting dirty and helping create something sustainable for the community was a powerful experience,” Fredrick reflected. For a university built on service, this week in St. Mary proved that the most profound classrooms have no walls.