ARGENTINA HERE WE COME Travel abroad helps students experience co-op education and research opportunities. By Jessica Lamker Luther College juniors Erik Hahn, left, and Jesus Lucero are members of Aynah, a student chapter organization that provides leaders from vulnerable communities nationwide with experiential education and economic empowerment opportunities. Aynah received a Cooperative Education Grant from the CHS Foundation. W hen Luther College juniors Erik Hahn and Jesus Lucero began their studies at the Decorah, Iowa, liberal arts school, they didn’t plan on studying cooperatives. But after joining Aynah, a student organization that connects students and youth with international cooperative development projects, the two are embarking on a month-long journey to Argentina to work with a textile cooperative owned by women. Aynah was formed by Luther College graduate Katie Campbell, who serves as its executive director, and is supported in part by the CHS Foundation Cooperative Education Grants program. “Aynah has a student-based system with three chapters: Luther; Earlham College, Richmond, Ind.; and St. Olaf College, Northfi eld, Minn.,” she says. “With our 2014 Cooperative Education Grant from CHS, we expect to more than triple our mission’s reach with additional student chapters, experiential education programs and community partnerships.” A Davenport, Iowa, native, Hahn studies biology and philosophy and looks at this time with Virrey del Pino, an Argentina-based cooperative, as an opportunity for his chapter to build a long-lasting relationship with members there, off ering education and research. “I don’t have economic development experience, so working with this forming cooperative helps me get that,” he says. While in Argentina, Hahn and Lucero are building relationships with members, supporting cooperative development by off ering educational business seminars and doing research for college credit. Lucero, who is bilingual and studies psychology and music, plans to research the altruistic behavior of the women who own the cooperative and whether that behavior contributes to cooperative success. Grants Focus on Youth, Education This year, the CHS Foundation awarded $1.2 million in cooperative education grants nationwide to more than 34 associations, university centers and cooperative foundations. Because agriculture continues to be an economic sweet spot, educators and industry leaders report the need for additional cooperative education. One supported program brings together more than 140 students each year from 31 universities across the U.S. and Puerto Rico for the National Farmers Union (NFU) College Conference on Cooperatives. “The conference is an opportunity for the cooperative community to teach young people about cooperative business principles and to show them there are great careers in these dynamic, ethical, > Your CHS Connection 23
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Argentina Here We Come
Jessica Lamker
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