Afton Goins

2016 Gilman Scholar

Hometown

Indianapolis, IN

Majors

Early Childhood Education and Exceptional Needs

College

College of Health and Human Sciences

Major

Spanish

College

College of Liberal Arts

 

My name is Afton Goins and I am a queer Afro-Latina senior studying Early Childhood Education and Spanish with a minor in Global Studies. My mother’s family hails from Belize and Guatemala, and my father was African-American. His family is from Gary, so we have lived in Indiana for the majority of my life. 

 

At Purdue University, I have been actively involved in anti-racism organizations and programs, and I understand the lingering impact that history can have on present-day interracial and intercultural relations. Having conducted research on the roots of the Dominican-Haitian conflict, it’s important to me to get an understanding of this history from the perspective of the Dominican education system and compare it to that of Haitian Dominicans. As an early childhood education major, I want to be able to use the cultural and linguistic knowledge I will gain from this experience in my future classrooms.

 

My long-term career goals involve teaching in Latin America, so the firsthand cultural experience is very important for my success in that regard. Cross-cultural competency is becoming more and more crucial for the effective teaching of young children because an understanding of each child’s unique context gives insight on how best to present content to that student and enhance his or her learning. To further comprehend the specific issues that young Dominican children face, I plan to take advantage of volunteer opportunities in the local community.

 

I also want to gain a greater understanding of Dominican Spanish, a dialect that is vastly different from the standard Spanish taught in schools as well as from Guatemalan Spanish, which I learned from my grandmother. In order to best serve and teach young children, I will need to have a strong and confident grasp of the Spanish language. I will be placed with a Dominican family with whom I will stay for the duration of this program, giving me an immersive language experience that I am very excited to undertake.

 

Although this program caters specifically to U.S. American students, there are opportunities to take general classes with Dominican students at PUCMM, the university I will be attending. I intend to take advantage of this opportunity, and I am eager to explore and grow while studying in the Dominican Republic.