Some once-in-a-lifetime experiences happen twice. In March 2026, sixteen first-generation students at Illinois participated in a spring break study abroad program in Panamá. As part of their enrollment in the ACES 298 course entitled “Bridging Sustainable and Professional Development Goals,” these students engaged in an immersive cultural exchange program that, for many, was their first time being on an airplane and traveling outside of the United States.
In its second year of implementation, ACES 298 is a multidisciplinary collaboration between the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES), the Michael L. Jeffries, Sr. Center for Access and Academic Success (Jeffries Center), Scholar Support Program (SSP), and Illinois Abroad and Global Exchange (IAGE). The success of this collaborative partnership has relied on leveraging the distinct and diverse talents of dedicated Illinois staff members to design and administer a faculty-led study abroad program that was grounded in supporting the First-Gen experience.
For the first iteration of the program, Jennifer Mendez, former Director of First-Generation Student Initiatives and former Associate Director at the Jeffries Center, and Ali Freter, Director of ACES Study Abroad, worked closely with Cheelan Bo-Linn (Center for Innovation in Teaching & Learning) and Meredith Blumthal (Director of the Food and Agribusiness Management Program) to create a course that adhered to best practices in curriculum design while also being appropriate for a wide range of ages and majors.
Heading into its second year, facilitators made intentional choices to adapt both the course and the study abroad program, ensuring alignment with the course’s focus on the United Nations Sustainable Development goals. The course length was extended to 1 hour and 50 minutes which allowed for a deeper dive into the course materials. During the travel preparation portion of the course, students heard from alumni about their experiences the previous year. They also built a community within their own study abroad cohort through a collaborative group project that culminated in a final poster presentation.
During the second study abroad experience, the group ventured a few hours outside of Panamá City for a two-day stretch, visiting el Centro de Desarrollo, Sostenible y Manejo Ambiental (CEDESAM) de Río Hato, El Valle de Anton, and Playa Blanca. In CEDESAM, Illini received a hands-on exploration of crop research that university students in Panamá were conducting in the region. Overall, the students were also able to experience more of Panamá, which is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world (and one of the very few carbon negative countries!).
Ultimately, the goal for both the course objectives and study abroad program remained the same: a continued focus on the first-gen student experience at Illinois. While elements may change from year-to-year, facilitators will follow a student-informed, holistic approach to maintain the program’s sustainability over time.
From the students’ perspective, ACES 298 feels as if it was designed specifically for them.
“This experience seems to have opened doors for students to consider future global engagement activities when they might not have otherwise,” Freter said. “We have students from the first cohort who are traveling on other study abroad programs to places like South Africa, London, New Zealand, and France.”
Post-graduation, students who have participated in ACES 298 are also exploring additional opportunities with the Peace Corps and the Fulbright Scholarship Program. And they’re not stopping there—program alumni are paying it forward.
“Students have shared pages of testimonials regarding how meaningful the experience was to them,” Mendez said. “They’ve shared how they look forward to mentoring future first-generation students to also include study abroad as part of their own collegiate experience.”
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