07/17/2026
SUNY Cortland Associate Professor Jeremy Jimenez has visited more than 180 countries. Among all of them, he rates the tiny Caribbean island of Dominica as a “top 10” destination for its beauty.
He was happy to finally share that experience with eight Cortland students this summer.
The 10-day visit for “Development and Resilience in Dominica” delivered its class lessons through the lens of sustainability, covering topics like education, environmental studies, sociology and international relations.
“It pushed me both physically and intellectually and really opened up my eyes to the rest of the world,” said Phoebe Peer, a junior childhood education major who traveled abroad for the first time.
The course was created thanks in part to Jimenez’s contacts within the country and was the first time it was offered.
“They (students) got to see that community aspect in Dominica where everyone’s helping each other and supporting each other, whether it’s the female farmers group orat school,” said Jimenez, who plans to offer the trip again in 2 years but he is open to offering it annually if enough students express interest in participating.
Known as the “Nature Isle of the Caribbean,” a 2017 hurricane damaged the country’s crops, homes and habitats. In that aftermath, Dominica’s recovering landscape is an in-depth example for the students about finding balance between growth and preserving natural beauty and healthy ecosystems.
One of the least expensive of Cortland’s study abroad offerings, the nearly 2,000-mile journey brought the students to a place vastly different than the United States, according to junior Brianna Mullins, an early childhood/childhood education major.
“The sights and places we were able to go around the island of Dominica are experiences I am never going to forget,” said Mullins, another first-time international traveler.
Students explored the natural and cultural facets of the island while hiking, snorkeling, helping locals garden and learning from elders at the Kalinago Indigenous Territory. The group also developed professional skills while visiting a local school.
Peer appreciated the experience as a future teacher.
“The first time there we simply observed and the second time we were able to actually teach a lesson to a class,” Peer said.
All students kept a daily journal of their experiences on the island, while video clips and photos taken during the trip were used to create a final 15-minute final video project on the course’s themes and lessons.
Peer believes that spending an extended time in a different culture was a powerful way to broaden student perspectives.
“The entire trip in Dominica, talking with locals, learning its history and being active in the school, helped put me in the right direction of doing that,” Peer said.
It was a feeling shared by sophomore Jazlyn Nichols, who took to heart the examples of mindfulness she found there.
Nichols hopes to create lessons that help her students engage and be thankful for the moments they're in, rather than always looking ahead.
“It is easy to get so caught up into the next thing that we are constantly in a state of ‘go,’ especially in school,” she said. “I want to be able to take the peace from the trip into the classroom.”
Students can learn about Dominica and other study abroad options by contacting the International Programs Office at [email protected] or 607-753-2209.