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Photo by Joseph Tobiason, '08
Allyn Krzymowski, '08, and Jim Hunt paint 2
x4s for the roof of a new school being completed by the organization Seeds of Learning, in Los Robles, Nicaragua. |
Whitworth University History Professor Jim Hunt was met with a flood ofhugs, cards and e-mails thanking him for 25 years of service to the Central America Study Program during a campus luncheon organized by students of
the 2008 group this spring.
Hunt's voluminous notebook of alumni correspondence recalls his longtime involvement with the people of Central America. He says his best memories include interaction with Whitworth students and Central Americans – things like impromptu roadside parties that formed during long waits to fix a vehicle's flat tire. He also expresses appreciation for the Latin Americans who helped him grieve the loss of his daughter Krista Hunt Ausland, an alumna of the '93 program who was killed in 1998 in a bus accident in Bolivia while serving the poor.
"Latin Americans embrace suffering; they don't deny it," Hunt says. "They taught me how you come out on the other side with a certain measure of light and joy." In memory of their daughter, Hunt and his wife, Whitworth English Professor Emeritus Linda Hunt, founded the Krista Foundation for Global Citizenship.
Hunt is certain that he and fellow retired Central America Study Program professors Don Liebert and Ron Frase will maintain some level of involvement with Whitworth's Central America studies, and he's confident that those carrying on its legacy will have a profound impact on students' lives and learning.
"I think it's as strong now as it's always been, and its future is very promising," Hunt says.
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