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Kent State’s entry into Rwanda, Africa, not only opens a new market for international students at the university, but also contributes to the university’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

Sarah Schmidt, assistant director of global education initiatives at �������ֹ��� at Stark and an instructor in the School of Peace and Conflict Studies, will take a third group of students to Rwanda for a summer study abroad program in 2023.

One of the things that has most impressed her about the trips so far is the diversity among the students who go. More than 55% of her 2022 cohort were students of color—a percentage she says is unheard of for most study abroad trips. “It’s something our students care about; they want diversity.” 

Schmidt’s 2022 study abroad course, Rwanda After the Genocide Against the Tutsi, focused on the genocide in which nearly 1 million members of the Tutsi were killed by members of the government-backed Hutu militias from April to July 1994.

Following the tragedy, the country faced the monumental task of reconciliation and rebuilding. The result is a country focused on peace education, beginning at the earliest levels of primary school and continuing through university and beyond.

As with most �������ֹ��� collaborations in Rwanda, the driving force behind the summer study-abroad program, Schmidt says, was Pacifique Niyonzima, MEd ’19, now a doctoral candidate in interprofessional leadership at the College of Education, Health and Human Services. 

Niyonzima, a genocide survivor, came to the United States for schooling in 2011. In 2018, he was looking for a capstone project to complete his master’s degree in higher education administration. Someone suggested he contact Schmidt, whose research specialty is international peace and conflict resolution. 

Taking �������ֹ��� students to Rwanda to learn about the genocide and the country’s subsequent determination to become a model for peace and conflict resolution was Niyonzima’s vision after he returned to his homeland in 2018 for an internship at the University of Rwanda. “Rwanda is a good place to be now,” he says, “and I am excited about how this partnership will progress.”