By: Ella Colwell
The Evergreen Study Abroad program brought students from the Bittersweet: Cocoa and
Permaculture in Jamaica class taught by Sarah Williams beginning in the fall and continuing in
winter quarter to Jamaica during their last three weeks of class to learn more in depth about
agriculture. The original title of the class was ‘Bittersweet: Cocoa and Permaculture in Trinidad’
because the study abroad opportunity was supposed to happen in Trinidad, “Trinidad declared a
state of emergency two weeks before we were going to leave, so we switched it to Jamaica…
Vice President Dexter Gordon is Jamaican and he’d come into our class and give lectures.”
Margot McBrady told the CPJ. Despite this setback, students were still excited to engage in
education overseas.
Students left for Jamaica on February 17th during week 7 where they spent time in St.
Anne, St. Thomas, and Kingston. The class returned to Evergreen during week 10. Students got
to tour the University of the West Indies where they got to discuss future plans of working with
the university for study abroad programs. During their studies, most of their class instructions
happened outside. “It’s basically advanced organic farming, we were studying cocoa… working
on many different farms, like the Organic Farm at Evergreen.” McBrady remarked. When not
farming, students went to jerk factories, chocolate factories, grocery stores, and even got to
mingle with the local people.
While studying abroad may seem like an impossible dream, McBrady thanks The
Evergreen Study Abroad Office for helping her through the process, “They were really nice with
everyone and made sure everyone was able to get their plane tickets, especially with the
Trinidad situation… It was good to do it with a class.” While this study abroad trip was mainly a
part of an Evergreen program, students on this trip also got to take part in their own individual
interests through ILCs. Some students decided to take a deeper dive into the different foods that
are grown in Jamaica, while others, like Margot McBrady, focused more on the culture and
stories of the people there. Each student who went on the trip made websites and presentations
of their studies, McBrady’s can be found here: https://wordpress.evergreen.edu/bittersweet-
abroad-w25-mcbrady/
If you’re a current student interested in future Evergreen Study Abroad programs, their
office has drop-in hours on Tuesday from 10 am to noon, Wednesday from noon to 4 pm, and
Thursday from 11 am to 1 pm in SEM II E2115 (CCBLA Lobby). The Study Abroad office also
has in-person or virtual appointments that can be made through their website here:
https://www.evergreen.edu/academics/experiential-learning/study-abroad
The Evergreen State College is currently partnered with Universities in Japan, Germany,
Denmark, and China for exchange programs. During the 2025-26 year, based on the current
website, there appears to be opportunities for students to go to Ireland, Spain, Greece, France,
and Italy either through a faculty-led program or through individual study. For students who may
need extra monetary support, Evergreen also offers different scholarships to those who intend
to study abroad. Don’t miss out on an opportunity to learn in a different country, make an
appointment with the Evergreen Study Abroad office today!
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