They traveled by Toyota Land Cruiser for four hours through a jungle, visited an island that was just 75 steps in length and snorkeled among ocean reefs.

They visited colonial ruins, interacted with the colorful wildlife and painted murals on the walls of a school in an indigenous community.

For 20 students and four faculty members, Doane’s trip to Panama in May can only be described by one word: impactful.

Jared List, assistant professor of Modern Language, organized the trip. He said the trip wasn’t just a process of learning about the world, but also the process of learning about yourself.

Three additional faculty members, assistant Art professor Monique Belitz, associate Education professor Linda Kalbach and associate Modern Languages professor Kristen Hetrick, were involved with teaching, planning and helping students while in Panama.

The two-week journey consisted of days busy with exploring, traveling and learning. List described the trip as an opportunity to take students out of the country for an abroad experience while also learning through a hands-on experience.

Sophomore Kendall Kramer said she enjoyed immersing herself in the different cultures.

“The different cultures and the San Blas islands were so cool,” she said. “It was beautiful; we went snorkeling and it was picture perfect.”

The amazing scenery didn’t stop there. List said they also trekked up a river in a dugout canoe to visit indigenous communities.

Belitz organized a service trip at a village school in the mountains by Santiago. Students and faculty brought art supplies from the United States to paint murals on the walls of the school.

The school was poverty-stricken and didn’t have any running water, Belitz said. The kitchen contained two burners – one to boil contaminated water and one to cook the children’s only meal for the day.

Belitz said she thought it made many of the students realize how lucky they were with what they had.

When the group learned that the children didn’t have any art instruction or supplies, Belitz said they went to the local store and bought all the supplies they could find.

Even on their days off, the students came back and continued to paint the school, Belitz said. Instead of painting only a single outside wall, they painted an additional three and a nearby gazebo.

Exploring more and more at each indigenous community, the students and faculty also slept in thatched huts right on the water, traveled to a natural pool in the middle of the ocean and visited a 50 to 70-foot shipwreck.

Belitz said the experience made the students dare to discover the unknown.

“Some students said, ‘What! Eat a whole fish?’” Belitz said. “You have to learn to do different things with food and customs. It was good to see that not the whole world behaves like the people at Doane.”

The students and faculty that went on the trip hope to continue their connection with Panama, Belitz said.

Students will be giving presentations about their travels at 4 p.m. Sept. 25 in the Learning Commons. During the presentations,  Belitz said the faculty was  hoping to collect donated art supplies to be sent back to the schools of Panama. Enrique Sanchez, a Doane grad and board member, will bring donated supplies to Panama once the collection is over, she said.

Kramer said the trip was very beneficial for her as a double major in Spanish and Health and society.

“Everything that I have been studying in classes just came to life,” she said. “Being able to apply it was the best part.”

Belitz said she commended List on planning the trip and all of the time he took to do it.

It took 15 long months to complete, but List said it was worth it.

“As a Doane professor, I was quite proud to see the Doane students interact, jump right in and immerse themselves,” List said. “The part for me that I liked the most was being able to share the experiences with the students and faculty. That’s where I truly found it to be a memorable experience.”