Jackie Faasisila went to Samoa as a Peace Corps Volunteer in 1972
Meet the Academic Director:
Jackie Faasisila
Background:
Jackie was born and raised in rural South Dakota, receiving a B.A. in Education and an M.A. in History from the University of Missouri, Kansas. Jackie went to Samoa as a Peace Corps Volunteer in 1972, originally as a teacher trainer in social science. Later she taught at a rural Junior Secondary School and then served as lecturer in Education at the Secondary Teachers Training College.
Jackie served as Associate Peace Corps Director for Training from 1982 to 1985 and in various training capacities with the Peace Corps in Samoa, Cook Islands and Niue from 1985 until 1995. She began work for SIT as a language trainer in 1995 and took over as Academic Director in the fall of 1996.
Program Role:
Jackie is responsible for the planning and implementation of all aspects of the program, including an orientation week in Hawaii at the East West Center, a rural village stay, excursions to Savaii, Fiji and some semesters to American Samoa.
Program Objective:
The Samoa: Pacific Island Studies program allows students to experience a traditional culture very different from their own, but one with its own set of problems and issues. Having a chance to live in a communal culture with strong family and religious values challenges some of the western concepts of individualism and material wealth. An appreciation that people can live happily in a totally different way is what Jackie hopes will remain with her students.
Naturally, academics form the central core of this program with students focusing on the history, culture, economics, and politics of the Pacific region. The issues faced by developing nations in this era of globalization are also of great interest.
