Testimonial

I have known Carrie McCracken for six or seven years.  I met her first when she was working for another international study center in Costa Rica and I took a group of University of New Mexico students to visit her center in San Jose.  Carrie conducted a class on economic development issues for my students and I was extremely impressed by her knowledge of Central America and the way she related to our students.   Soon after that Carrie contacted me and said that she was going to move to Nicaragua and set up an internship program based there.  I thought there was a great need for such a program in Nicaragua, and I encouraged her to do that.

Since then, we at Casa Xalteva have worked with Carrie on a number of projects, and I have the utmost respect for her work.  For example, two years ago the University of New Mexico organized a semester-long program for a group of undergraduate students based in Granada.  As a requirement for the course, we wanted each student to do an extended period of social service volunteer work in various part of Nicaragua.  We asked Carrie to help us find appropriate sites, set up the terms and conditions of the internships, and supervise and evaluate the students.  Our students all had outstanding internship experiences and we were very appreciative of Carrie's assistance with the program. 

In the coming year, we are planning two other programs working closely with Carrie.  The Dental Hygiene program at the University of New Mexico is planning to take a group of their students to Nicaragua this summer to work with Nicaraguan dentists and do dental cleanings and exams in some rural clinics.  Carrie has met with the UNM faculty leaders and will be helping them set up sites for the project.  Also, the University of Colorado Medical School is sending a group of physical therapists to Nicaragua in 2011, and I have referred them to Carrie to see if she can do the same for that group.

...I have always found Carrie to be very professional, knowledgeable, and totally committed to her students.  She has developed a comprehensive and very impressive network of contacts with organizations and agencies in Nicaragua, and is able to find excellent placements for her students.  She is very careful to place the health and safety of her students at the top of her priorities, and she provides them with great support and supervision.   She is also very involved in the social and cultural life of Nicaraguans and makes sure that her students get to know people in Nicaragua and are fully immersed in the communities where they work.

Ken Carpenter, Ph.D.,

Associate Director

International Programs & Studies

University of New Mexico