LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ -- A group of 11 Rider University students are participating in a volunteer experiential learning program that is taking them on a two-week tour of Jamaica for extensive service missions and visits to tourist meccas in an effort to impart the cultural diversity of the island nation to students.

The students departed for Jamaica on Thursday, January 7, and are scheduled to return on Thursday, January 21.

"The focus of the trip is to expose Rider University students to the contrast in cultures as much as possible," said Don Brown, director of Rider's multicultural center. "We've tried to do this through converting what was simply an immersion project into more of an experiential learning course."

The students are (with hometown, class year, and major):

The first stop for the group will be Kingston, where students will have the opportunity to explore and observe the cultural offerings of Jamaica's capital city. During the three-day stop in Kingston, students will be housed at the University of the West Indies and will attend a city church service on Sunday.

The group then heads into the Blue Mountains for five days at the Pringle Home for Children, an orphanage located near High Gate. At the orphanage, the Rider students will get in line and work with the orphans on their daily chores in an environment that includes no running water and minimal electricity. They will then spend four days working in the upscale tourist haven of Ocho Rios at the Iona School, a private, Presbyterian-supported all-age elementary and secondary school.

The excursion will wind up at another popular Jamaican tourist stop, Montego Bay, to give students a brief respite prior to returning home.

Participating students receive three academic credits following successful completion of the trip and associated scholarly requirements. To receive the full credit, students must maintain a journal during the trip and write a reflective paper. They must also complete assigned readings before and after the trip.

Rider University is an independent, coeducational, nonsectarian institution with a 353-acre main campus in Lawrenceville, New Jersey and a 23-acre campus in Princeton, New Jersey. The University offers 60 undergraduate programs and 17 graduate programs, and ninety-three percent of the faculty hold doctoral or other appropriate advanced degrees.