Communication, Leadership and Community Development
During this faculty-led study abroad immersion, you will gain practical training that will help you better understand the development needs of a local community.
You will work with community groups in Cali, putting your communication and listening skills to work. Community leaders use creative and inclusive approaches based in story-telling, media and the arts to build relationships, create consensus, accomplish goals and work for social change.
You will gain practical skills applicable to organizational development, intercultural collaboration and team building.
We offer 2 classes in Cali, the required Communication, Leadership and Community Development course and an optional Travel Writing course.
Cali, Colombia Study Abroad Experience
This program is run in partnership with Javeriana University. A typical day includes working with a community partner for half of the day, classroom instruction, group debriefs and project work, as well as tours and free time.
You can use your financial aid toward the cost of this study abroad program.
Details on the most recent project in this article: Global Engagement in the Digital Age.
Learn more about why Alumna Linda Hobrook choose to travel to Cali while a student and after graduation: Coming and Going: For Innovation and Immersion.
You must be a current student (active in class) to apply to Study Abroad programs.
Questions?
Contact:
Heather Schmitt
Call or Text: (509) 313-6240 or (866) 380-5323
Email: schmitth@gonzaga.edu
Program Details:
Dates
- July 5 - 19, 2026
Estimated Costs
- Tuition - 3 credits: $3,240*
- Tuition - 6 credits: $6,480*
- Program Fee: $1,110*
Includes:
- Shared accommodations at Villa Javier at Javeriana University
- Most group meals
- Local group transportation
- Group excursions and activities
- Student insurance
Not included:
- Airfare
- Some meals
- Textbooks
- Personal expenses
Curriculum
COML 572 is a required course. You may also choose to take COML 513 at the same time. The courses are hybrid with online components. When you return home, you will continue to complete coursework.
COML 572: Communication, Leadership and Community Development - 3 credits
Instructor: Pavel Schlossberg, Ph.D.
Working adaptively across cultures, you'll collaborate with local organizations in post-conflict settings to discover how creative practices—from art to storytelling to dialogue—can promote healing and transform division into connection. Learn to navigate cultural complexity with humility while using innovative approaches to directly participate in and impact local community projects that foster reconciliation, build trust, and create sustainable change. This immersive experience develops your capacity to lead sensitively across differences while honoring local wisdom and community resilience.
This course is eligible as an elective for the College Teaching, Digital Media Strategies, Global Leadership and Servant Leadership Concentrations.
COML 513: Leadership and Peace-Building in Colombia: From Conflict to Transformation - 3 Credits
Instructor: Jenaro Abraham, Ph.D.
Examine the roots and impacts of Colombia's armed conflict and witness firsthand how communities forge pathways from violence to sustainable peace. Through direct engagement with grassroots peace building initiatives in Cali and surrounding rural areas, you'll study reconciliation frameworks while developing critical leadership competencies: strategic analysis of complex conflicts, and understanding systemic and creative approaches to social transformation. Work alongside former combatants, victims' organizations, and peace practitioners who are reconstructing social fabric after decades of war. This field-based learning experience invites you to explore peacebuilding interventions, and understand how leadership emerges from communities confronting historical trauma. Develop skills in conflict-sensitive program design while gaining deep insights into Colombia's transition—a living case study of how societies move from cycles of violence toward justice and coexistence.
*Tuition and program fees are an estimate subject to change.
