Calvin College Visits UPH to Build Student Character through Indonesian Culture.

Universitas Pelita Harapan (UPH) welcomes a visit from Calvin College, a Christian education-based university in Michigan, USA. The visit was warmly welcomed by the UPH International Office who initiated the program from January 5 to January 19, 2018.

During the visit, there were 20 people and three lecturers who assisted. These students come from various backgrounds of study programs, such as psychology, English / Communication, art education, graphic design, film/art, digital communication, Chinese, computer science, and art/biology.

This visit was the third time and is part of UPH collaboration with Calvin College. The students are part of Artist Collaborative program, where they were required to make an art project that reflects Indonesian art, both the culture and mindset observed after their visit. In addition, this activity also aims to make Calvin’s students, future Christian leaders, able to respond to issues in the world together with people from other parts of the world through cultural arts.

In line with this, Debra Buursma, the group leader, stated that the main purpose of this visit is for students to learn from various perspectives so that it can change their way of thinking and become a better person according to the will of God. 

“The goal of this program is to learn more about other people from different parts of the world, so that students can see the world in a way that is different from theirs. So we try to explore a number of different cultural patterns. This can change the way we see things and stereotype. Thus, the students can learn how to become a better person and to be a leader in Christ, “said Debra.

In addition to cultural exploration, Calvin College also visited various cultural attractions in Bali, Yogyakarta, and Jakarta. They also had the opportunity to interact with and interview several people, including Ayleen Riady, SPH International Associate Head of School, Tandean Rustandy, CEO of Arwana Tile Company, Daniel, a curator at the museum Ullen Sentalu in Yogyakarta, as well as one of the leaders of a school for disabled children at Bali. ™