From experiencing traditional song and dance to engaging with local Indigenous people and facing the history of the transatlantic slave trade, Colorado State University’s winter break study abroad trip sheds light on life and community in Ghana year after year. The program was led by Caridad Souza, associate professor of ethnic studies and women’s and gender studies, and Denise Apodaca, master instructor in the school of music, theatre and dance.

Students in the Ghana Community Engagement Project have the opportunity to travel to Ghana and participate in community engagement in a variety of regions around the country.

“It’s pretty intensive,” Souza said. “It brings you into contact with a lot of people in that country. We work with (nongovernmental organizations) in the country; I don’t work with any international folks. I don’t do anything that has to do with anything outside of Ghanaian-run and -owned businesses and vendors.”

Souza has led the trip since 2008, but her goals remain the same: She hopes to build transnational solidarity between CSU students and communities in Ghana.

“So we’re thinking about, how do we accompany people? How do we learn from people?” Souza said. “I tell students immediately this is not a mission trip; you’re not going to make a difference; you’re not going to find yourself. None of that stuff, right?
This is about learning from Ghanaians about Ghanaian society and culture in all the ways that we can.”

Students have the chance to engage with Ghanaians in different ways each year, with opportunities like navigating the local markets, learning songs and dances from local performers, visiting mosques and meeting with Ghanaian students.

“I personally loved working with the kids and young adults or teenagers because it’s always like, ‘Hey, I’m treating you with respect (and) you’re treating me with respect,’ and I get to learn something new,” said Jasmine Retland, a CSU graduate who participated in the Ghana study abroad program. “And, like, you’re always learning if you always open up and allow yourself to.”

Students also have a chance to learn more about the history of the transatlantic slave trade in the central region of Ghana, where students visit the cities of Cape Coast and Elmina.

“We learn from a professor who talks to us about the transatlantic slave trade,” Souza said. “He also talks to us about African literatures, and he takes us around and does some really wonderful work for us.”

For many students, seeing a different side of that part of U.S. history is incredibly impactful.

“(We’re) really understanding that chattel enslavement has all of these impacts that we don’t really get to talk about here in America,” said Ella Smith, another CSU graduate who participated in the Ghana study abroad trip. “Although we understand the ways that it impacted people once they got to America, (we were) really understanding that the communities still feel this deep sense of loss surrounding this.”

“There’s a feeling sense in the body of being there, and the best way to understand it is to talk to people who have just gotten back so that they can tell you about what the experience is like, and then you’ll make your decision.” –Caridad Souza, CSU ethnic studies and women’s and gender studies associate professor

The trip tends to have a lasting impact on people who had the opportunity to experience Ghana and its rich culture.

“The biggest thing was just realizing that there are a lot of ways in which we have been socialized into capitalism as being the only way of life, not just economically but socially and culturally,” Retland said. “And to be able to engage in a different social, economic and cultural system, to see, like, what are different ways or new ways that we can engage with each other, engage in business, engage in our care or our attention to the natural world.”

Though the trip is just three weeks long, students pack in an abundance of cultural exposure and learning, naturally coming back with a variety of new perspectives.

“I exist in some activist spaces, and it definitely made me think a lot more transnationally,” Smith said. “That’s a term that I essentially learned during this trip. It’s like, if you imagine an arrow going from the U.S. to Ghana, international is the arrow going one way, transnational is the arrow going both ways. And so I’ve learned to think a lot more transnationally.”

Souza said she wants to facilitate relationship building between her students and Ghanaian communities.

“For the U.S. students, I want them to see what humanity looks like,” Souza said. “I want them to see that we’re losing our humanity. Ghana has a very relational culture, and it’s like when people say, ‘How do I get through it? What’s the best thing?’ I say ‘relationship, relationship, relationship, relationship.’”

The program begins with a series of seminars before departure, meets for eight weeks of class on campus during the spring semester and ends in a celebration called “Gifts from Ghana,” during which students can share their experiences. For students who may be interested in this trip, Souza suggested attending this event and applying for the 2026-27 academic year.

“There’s a feeling sense in the body of being there, and the best way to understand it is to talk to people who have just gotten back so that they can tell you about what the experience is like, and then you’ll make your decision,” Souza said.

For future students who may be unsure about studying in Ghana, Smith offered their advice.

“I would say that if you’re on the fence, you should do it,” Smith said. “Obviously studying abroad is an expense that not everybody can afford, and I understand that, but if you have the ability to go study abroad in Ghana, then you should.”

Reach Gracie Douglas at life@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.