Commitment to education: from agricultural instruction in Central America, to rural teaching experiences in Argentina, to advances in sign language communication in Jamaica; fundamental developments in learning are advancing the next generation of intellectuals who will be the leaders of the future.

• Author: Hardman, Chris
• Position: Escuela de Agricultura de la Region Tropical Humeda University

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With a wide smile and a twinkle in his eyes, Alexi Antonio Mendoza Flores proudly holds the newest member of his family, a male lamb just weeks old. On the lawn next to him the flock he cares for is doing what they do best: grazing on grass. The sheep are part of Flores' plan for providing a lawn-mowing service that decreases environmental pollution and rids the air of whining engine noises. Guided by a solar-powered electric fence of his own design, he moves the sheep every few days so that they can cut the grass in a new section of the lawn at Costa Rica's EARTH University where Flores is a senior. Creating this service and caring for it's living lawnmowers is all part of Flores' senior project, one last step towards graduating with a degree in agricultural sciences.

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Located in Guacimo, Costa Rica, the Escuela de Agricultura de la Region Tropical Humeda, or simply EARTH University, is a one-of-a-kind academic institution dedicated to teaching sustainable agriculture. With an 8,154-acre campus of 400 students, 40 faculty, a banana plantation, an organic farm, a paper mill, a biological reserve, and a variety of experimental gardens, the university is able to provide a world-class, hands-on education. In return, says long-time University President Dr. Jose Zaglul, the university has only one request: "We don't ask for much. We just want them to change the world."

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Two decades ago a group of visionaries proposed creating a university dedicated to tropical sustainable agriculture located in the middle of the rainforest. They wanted students from rural areas all over Latin America to be able to step right outside the classroom and immediately put into practice what they were learning about organic farming, composting, and reforestation. Funds from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) paid for the planning and building of this new kind of university--where environmental responsibility, community leadership, and ethical business practices would be just as important as academic excellence.

One of the goals of this university was to make higher education available to young people from rural areas throughout the humid tropics. Low-income students who wouldn't ordinarily go to college, let alone leave the country, would have the opportunity for a top-notch education they could use to improve agricultural practices back home.

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Since classes began in 1990, the university has graduated 1,272 students from twenty Latin American countries and from Spain, Uganda, Mozambique and Indonesia. The majority of EARTH graduates--some 77 percent--work in their own private sector business, for a non-governmental organization (NGO), or for their family business.

Because the university provides plenty of hands-on experience, EARTH graduates leave campus well prepared for the real world. Each student spends time working and living with farmers in the communities surrounding the university. On campus, students work on the university's integrated farm to learn sustainable farming techniques including waste management and proper animal care. In their third year of study, students leave campus for an International internship. They spend three to four months working for businesses in the agricultural industry and volunteering in rural communities throughout Latin America, the Middle East, Asia, and the United States.

One of the university's goals is to create ethical entrepreneurs who will return to their home country, start sustainable businesses, and create jobs. Every student receives entrepreneurial training both in and outside of the classroom. At the end of their freshman year, EARTH students begin developing their own sustainable agro-business. The students go through the real steps an entrepreneur faces. They develop a business plan, they obtain a loan from the bank, they start the business, and they liquidate the assets. Students have dabbled in pineapple exportation, soap making, and educational tourism.

The opportunity to get his hands dirty is what drew Adolfo Artavia to EARTH University. The son of coffee farmers from Heredia, Costa Rica, Artavia already had a natural interest in agriculture. Although he was considering a degree in agricultural studies, he had heard that many universities fail to give students hands-on experience. Then a friend told him that EARTH University was different. "The first time I came, I fell in love with the place," he says. What started out as a lunch meeting turned into a day-long visit. Now in his fourth year, Artavia has had many opportunities for practical experience. He is especially proud of the work he did for Malawi's Natural Resources College in Africa. During his five-month internship, he created a recycling center, improved mushroom cultivation, and worked in rural communities teaching people how to install and use a biodigester and how to improve composting.

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Sophomore student Ruth Vera Hejia from Northern Peru had never even considered leaving her country before she came to EARTH University. Now she is eagerly planning for her internship in the United States and is dreaming about traveling around the world. With passion in her voice, she talks about her school and how it has changed her. She is proud of the training she receives at the university organic dairy farm and delights in talking about her plans for the future when she will return to her country and improve agricultural processes there.

To find outstanding young people like Artavia and Vera Hejia, EARTH University invests a lot of time, money, and human resources in recruitment. Faculty members travel to remote areas of Latin America and the Caribbean to meet with and interview potential students. Not. only are they evaluating academic potential, they are also looking for young people with leadership skills committed to returning to their country to be "agents of change."

According to professor Johan Perret, the interview is the first connection the teachers have with a student and that is why they invest so much time and effort in them. Each applicant will spend 30-45 minutes in an interview with the professor alone and in a group setting. "If we disconnect the professor from the interview, then we might disconnect the professor from the [student]," Perret explains.

During those interviews EARTH faculty are looking for key personality characteristics of morality, social awareness, adaptability, business sense, and leadership. Senior student Susana Hernandez was teaching environmental education to children at a nature preserve in Queretaro, Mexico, when she heard about EARTH University. Her love for her country, her intelligence, and her dedication to the environment satisfied the EARTH University requirements for a potential student.

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