Pirates, Peruvians build lasting connection
It was easy for Angel Castañeda Vargas, a student at Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (Peruvian University of Applied Sciences), to summarize how he felt on East Carolina University’s campus for a week last month.
He stood between ECU baseball’s Clark-LeClair Stadium, about an hour before the start of a sold-out NCAA regional game, and 50,000-seat football venue Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium as Pirate tailgaters surrounded him and his Peruvian peers. Filled with excitement, but not overwhelmed, Vargas said he was eager to visit the ECU Main Campus Student Center later in the day to add more purple-and-gold to his wardrobe.
“The atmosphere here is really cool. This feels amazing. This is great,” said Vargas, who is studying human resources and was paired with a Special Olympics athlete as part of the 2024 ECU and Special Olympics Unified Youth Exchange project.
Four Special Olympics athletes from Peru were joined by unified partners, coaches, coordinators and other Special Olympics staff for eight days of activities in North Carolina. This was after ECU sent College of Health and Human Performance representatives to Peru during spring break in March to share and exchange ideas about how to make sport more accessible in both countries.
Peru and Special Olympics delegates run in the Fleet Feet Big Run 5K on Global Running Day.
The Peruvian delegates flew from Lima to Raleigh, where they enjoyed watching and cheering on athletes at the Special Olympics North Carolina Summer Games.
Then in Greenville, their itinerary kept them busy.
Angel Castañeda Vargas smiles for a photo at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. (Photo by Ronnie Woodward)
They participated in a pickleball clinic, learned about animal recreation and enjoyed the Fleet Feet Big Run 5K event, held on Global Running Day on June 5, at Greenville Town Common. They became more familiar with baseball, including at a Greenville Yard Gnomes game for sensory awareness, featuring the ECU mobile sensory trailer for children, adults and veterans who experience sensory overload. They stayed at College Hill Suites and ate at local restaurants. They shopped and visited Aces for Autism, ECU Health, HHP labs and art galleries, and fully embraced eastern North Carolina food culture via a behind-the-scenes barbecue cooking class.
“I have had a great experience with the dorms and the city and all the places we have visited,” said Bruno Giraldo Martínez, a Special Olympics swimmer. “I’ve learned how to cherish this experience about Special Olympics and unified sports. I loved meeting other athletes, too.”
ECU HHP students were present throughout the week to assist and to interact. Leading a campus tour one day were students Manny Torres, Allan Munoz and Jillian Conroy.
“I enjoyed teaching them about the culture here,” Torres said. “They asked us about what fraternities and sororities are, and what we like to do for fun. It’s been pretty interesting, because this is different from what they are used to compared to their school. We’ve tried our best to show them how it is here.”
Dr. Andrea Buenaño served as co-principial investigator, with Dr. Stacy Warner, and focused on experiential learning for ECU’s students.
“These types of experiences, both international and domestic, provide intellectual growth and personal growth, as well as the ability for students to gain a broader understanding of global issues,” Buenaño said. “International experiential learning provides an opportunity for students to gain an external perspective. While traveling abroad and bringing international individuals to North Carolina, students have the opportunity to challenge their perspectives, get outside their comfort zone and broaden their education.”
Other HHP faculty members, including Drs. AJ An, David Loy, Christine Habeeb, Eboni Baugh and Lindsey Oakes, were instrumental to the success of the program. Warner lauded Buenaño’s leadership and role in coordinating an array of impactful experiences.
Greenville Yard Gnomes baseball players congratulate visitors from Peru after a ceremonial first pitch. (Contributed photo by Greenville Yard Gnomes)
“Andrea has been able to take a big-picture vision and create a high-quality program for the Special Olympics delegation,” Warner said. “It has flawlessly highlighted the best of what Greenville has to offer for a group of international visitors, while also providing a really cool experience for some ECU students.”
An overarching goal of this exchange was to connect delegates through sport diplomacy. Specifically with the Peruvian group coming to Greenville, Buenaño said goals were based on relationships and togetherness.
“Our vison for this initiative was to bring together athletes, community leaders, sport managers and emerging sport leaders to foster more inclusive communities via sport at the local level, while promoting cross-cultural relationships,” Buenaño said. “By the end of the exchange programming, I’m certain we accomplished our goals and so much more.”