![\"Emily](\"http:\/\/www.clarksvilleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/APSU\u2019s-PELP-juniors-perform-service-work-in-Trinidad-Tobago-480x320.jpg\" "\\"Emily")
<\/a>Emily Moore, a PELP junior and Austin Peay State University softball player, works with the construction supervisor at a Habitat site. (APSU)<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
Patel is a member of Austin Peay State University\u2019s President\u2019s Emerging Leaders Program (PELP), a scholarship program that prepares high-achieving students for leadership roles through academic excellence and service learning.<\/p>\n
In January, as part of that program, Patel and 12 other PELP juniors spent a week living in an old Catholic abbey in Trinidad while they spent their days restoring houses for Habitat for Humanity.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe spent a lot of time together, sharing all three meals a day together,\u201d Dr. Matt Kenney, chair of the APSU Department of Political Science and Public Management, said. For the last 10 years, Kenney has chaperoned PELP juniors on a service-learning trip to the island nation. \u201cI split the class into four groups, and each group is responsible for each evening\u2019s reflection section and a team-building exercise they designed. These students run the show.\u201d<\/p>\n
The students usually woke up around 6:30am, ate breakfast and then rode an hour to the job site. That\u2019s where they spent most of their days, helping residents build and restore their homes.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoing service-learning in another country, we got to see a totally different aspect of that country,\u201d Lauren Kennedy, APSU PELP student, said. \u201cBecause had we just done study abroad, we would have just been tourists. But as we\u2019re serving the people and being driven around by the people, being fed by those people, you get to see the daily lives of what it actually looks like to live in Trinidad.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, I have been on other mission trips with my church or with other service organizations, but this one was different from all of them because of the cultural aspect,\u201d Faith Hudgens, APSU PELP student, said. \u201cI had never been to a country with such a unique cultural aspect while having our same language. It was incredible – learning all different dialects and the fact that we could communicate with them.\u201d<\/p>\n
For some of the 13 Austin Peay students, the trip was their first experience in a foreign country. For others, such as PELP student Emily Moore, it offered an opportunity they wouldn\u2019t have otherwise.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was really excited because I play softball, so I don\u2019t have enough time if I want to do another study abroad trip,\u201d she said. \u201cThis trip worked out for me, timing wise. Also, I\u2019ve had class with these people for three years, but we never really got to know each other like on a deeper level, so this was a great opportunity to make those lifelong connections and just spend time with people during this experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
[320left]Patel agreed, saying they also forged relationships with the island\u2019s residents. \u201cWe got really close with them. We worked five days and talked with them for 10 hours a day. It was nice meeting new people and talking with them about their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
The students also made a few excursions to the beach, listened to a steel drum orchestra and visited some of the island\u2019s Hindu temples. Despite a few sore muscles and a lack of sleep, they returned to Austin Peay with stronger friendships, a growing desire to travel and serve, and three credit hours.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m honestly blown away by the entire (PELP) program, the organization of the entire program, and that we started together and get to see each other progress, and to encourage each other,\u201d Hudgens said. \u201cWe\u2019re all doing different things, but we\u2019re all leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Austin Peay State University (APSU) Clarksville, TN – Earlier this winter, when Parth Patel visited the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago for the first time, he wasn\u2019t expecting to find a Hindu temple tucked amid the island\u2019s palm trees. \u201cI\u2019m Hindu,\u201d Patel, an Austin Peay State University (APSU) junior, said. \u201cIt was cool seeing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5],"tags":[23,33023,7207,24205,262,512,825,33122,33121,33120,10987,30222,2225,14304,18322],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4xGYI-6Zm","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26868"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26868"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26868\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26869,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26868\/revisions\/26869"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Austin](\"http:\/\/www.clarksvilleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Austin-Peay-State-University-APSU.jpg\" "\\"Austin")
Clarksville, TN<\/strong> – Earlier this winter, when Parth Patel visited the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago for the first time, he wasn\u2019t expecting to find a Hindu temple tucked amid the island\u2019s palm trees. \u201cI\u2019m Hindu,\u201d Patel, an Austin Peay State University (APSU) junior, said.<\/p>\n![\"Emily](\"http:\/\/www.clarksvilleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/APSU\u2019s-PELP-juniors-perform-service-work-in-Trinidad-Tobago.jpg\" "\\"Emily")
<\/a>