Leslie Hawthorne Klingler ’95

Preparing Students for the Global Neighborhood: Global and Experiential Learning

Wheaton's Global and Experiential Learning Programs and International Student Programs develop intercultural competencies that foster effective global citizenship and Christian witness through study and sustained, meaningful engagement with others in a manner that reflects the love, humility, empathy, and servanthood of Jesus Christ.

Here, we travel with GEL's spring 2018 Wheaton in Mexico program.

Leslie Hawthorne Klingler ’95 (photography)

Students scale the ruins of the Great Cholula pyramid near Puebla, the world’s largest pyramid by volume, built in stages between the 3rd century B.C. and the A.D. 9th century.

Leslie Hawthorne Klingler '95

Representing Wheaton College in Cholula. In the background: the Church of the Virgin of Remedies, first built atop pre-Hispanic ruins in 1594.

Leslie Hawthorne Klingler '95

Spanish professor and guide Alejandro Zenteno jokes with the Wheaton In Mexico group while touring the Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo art collections at the Dolores Olmedo Musuem in Xochimilco. (L to R: Jillian Dowdy ’19, Yuni López ’19, Dr. Timothy Klingler '93, Alejandro Zenteno)

Leslie Hawthorne Klingler '95

Timothy Klingler ’93, Associate Lecturer of Spanish and Wheaton in Mexico Director

“During their semester abroad, Wheaton in Mexico students explore how they are shaped by their cultural context. Self-awareness is critical to effectively and appropriately engaging others. Without it, our best intentions can conflate our work in the name of Christ with our cultural biases.”

Emily Smith ’20 hikes the Peña de Bernal, the world’s third largest monolith located near Querétaro, the city Wheaton in Mexico students call home for 17 weeks.

Leslie Hawthorne Klingler '95

Taylor Meyer ’20 and her host brother, Diego, grill for a Sunday afternoon family gathering. Each Wheaton in Mexico student lives with a Mexican family for the semester.

Leslie Hawthorne Klingler '95

Elizabeth Frey '20 (facing), Madeline Seeland ’20, Riley Cunningham ’20, and Emily Smith ’20 enjoy an evening view of colonial Guanajuato from the steps of the state university

Leslie Hawthorne Klingler '95

Elizabeth Frey ’20, SPANISH AND PSYCHOLOGY DOUBLE MAJOR from Austin, Texas

“After this experience, I’m going to live less afraid. I’ve learned to take risks and have fun even in uncomfortable circumstances.”

Emily Smith ’20 atop the copper-covered Monument to the Mexican Revolution in Mexico City

Leslie Hawthorne Klingler '95

Emily Smith ’20, SPANISH AND INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES DOUBLE MAJOR from Wichita, Kansas

“I want to remember how I felt at the beginning of the semester and have more compassion for immigrants. I want to work to help and support them in the future.”

Students traverse the hilly colonial city of Guanajuato via alleyways and steep sidewalks with history professor Elsa Garcia and Pablo, member of the First Methodist Church of Querétaro youth group.

Leslie Hawthorne Klingler '95

Students rest at the Pyramid of the Moon while visiting Teotihuacán, an important pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican city founded before Christ’s birth. In the background is the Pyramid of the Sun.

Leslie Hawthorne Klingler '95

Wheaton in Mexico students form enduring relationships with fellow Wheaties. Brian Salcedo ’19 and Nathan Spiecker ’19 enjoy conversation while watching the sun set over Mexico City from the vantage point of the Monument to the Revolution.

Leslie Hawthorne Klingler '95