“From the Andes to the Amazon in Ecuador,” one of the many Education Abroad programs offered at Missouri State University, successfully completed its third run June 24-July 16, 2026.
This year, six students joined Jason Shepard, senior instructor in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Gerontology. They were Kenyon Broten, Amanda Gott, Ryan Johnston, DeMarcus Powell-Long, Myles Ramey and Autumn Seely.
This is the third time Shepard has led the Ecuador program. Additionally, this was the second time Gott, Johnston and Broten traveled to Ecuador as part of the Education Abroad experience. They used the opportunity to expand their research, which they plan to present at the Society for Applied Anthropology conference in March 2027.
Beyond a “travel course”
When Shepard began the Ecuador program in 2023, he envisioned it as more than just a “travel course.”
“[It] was designed from the beginning as an anthropology field school,” he explained. “I think students are attracted to the program because they get to do anthropology rather than only study it in a classroom.”
Cultivating the field school approach
Shepard evaluates the program annually to see what is working and what isn’t. He doesn’t, however, change the program simply to offer students something different. Instead, he believes returning to the same communities and working with the same people gives the field school approach “considerable value.”
“Short-term education abroad can make sustained relationships difficult,” Shepard said. In contrast, repeated visits allow students to develop strong connections with the communities they are studying.
“After three years, these are no longer simply places on an itinerary,” he said. “I have relationships with families, educators, activists, community leaders, farmers, guides and others who help make the field school possible.”
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