Fourteen Students Travel to St. Croix as a part of Summer Class

Pictured from left to right starting with the back row are Cynthia Camacho Flores, a senior majoring in psychology from East Stroudsburg, Pa., Kaitlyn De Angelis, a junior majoring in speech-language pathology from Slate Hill, N.Y., Kelly Taylor, a junior undeclared major from Jim Thorpe, Pa., Renee Pappalas, a junior majoring in psychology from Readig, Pa., Sarah Moore, a sophomore majoring in psychology from York, Pa., Sam McElwain, a junior majoring in sociology from Lansdale, Pa., Katie Mustillo, a sophomore majoring in speech-language pathology from Branchburg, N.J., Kaylen Quintero, a junior majoring in psychology from Stroudsburg, Pa., Johnna Cappel, a junior majoring in speech- language pathology from Frackville, Pa., Savannah Doyle, a junior majoring in psychology and mathematics from East Stroudsburg, Pa., Alyssa Kleynen, a junior majoring in psychology from York, Pa., Danielle Avenoso, a sophomore majoring in speech-language pathology from Staten Island, N.Y., Dana Tirella, a sophomore majoring in speech-language pathology from Nanuet, N.Y., and Kelsey McCone, a freshman majoring in psychology from Philadelphia, Pa.

Fourteen students took a class this summer that had them packing their bags and traveling to St. Croix for 12 nights.

The trip is a part of the curriculum of Cross Cultural Comparison of Behavior Therapy, a summer class at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania.
Richard Wesp, Ph.D., distinguished professor of psychology at ESU, started teaching the class 14 years ago.

“I wanted to give students the opportunity to apply the knowledge they gain in the classroom,” he said. “Students also gained some insight into the relationship between culture and behavior.”

The class met in Stroudsburg, Pa. for a week to review procedures used in behavioral therapy and theories about cultural differences and similarities before heading to St. Croix.

Arriving at St. Croix, students networked with the psychology club from the University of the Virgin Islands and toured historical sites on their island. A few days later, their time was consumed with reviewing and applying different types of therapeutic activities that they used with residents of Ginger Thomas, a group home for handicapped residents run by the Lutheran Home of the Virgin Islands. On the last day, students supervised a group swim with the residents, many of whom were wheelchair bound.

“The experience really opened my eyes to another culture,” Johnna Cappel, a junior from Frackville, Pa. majoring in speech-language pathology, said. “It made me a better person- it’s something I will never forget.”

ESU’s Student Activity Association (SAA) and the Kramer fund, a fund provided to the psychology department by the family of former student John Kramer, financed some activities students participated in during the trip.

“We were so grateful to have the funding to do this trip,” Alyssa Kleynen, a junior from York, Pa. majoring in speech-language pathology, said. “Because of this trip, we were able to have the cultural experience that most others might not get the chance to experience.”

Dr. Wesp will soon be accepting applications for a May 2016 offering of the class.

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