Miami University’s Honors College teams up with Project Dragonfly for first time
Zeb Baker, inaugural dean for the Honors College, calls it 'a partnership that we intend to grow and build for years to come’
Miami University’s Honors College teams up with Project Dragonfly for first time
Videography by Zach Burnett
The Miami University Honors College and Project Dragonfly recently collaborated for the first time with undergraduate students on an innovative pre-semester study abroad trip to Belize.
Twenty first-year Honors College students spent Aug. 13-19 exploring the small country located along the eastern coast of Central America known for its gorgeous barrier reefs and dense rainforests that are home to Maya ruins. The trip’s theme was community-based conservation and leadership.
Molly Phelan, an undeclared business major from Versailles, Ohio, called the trip unforgettable.
“We learned a lot about community-based conservation and leadership,” she said. “We talked about the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and how they affect the land in Belize and other parts of Central America.”
Phelan said, “One of my favorite parts of the trip was snorkeling in Tobacco Caye. The water was so clear, and I got to see sea turtles, stingrays, reefs, and even a nurse shark.”
The excursion was the culmination of an idea that was sparked a few years ago when leadership from the Honors College and study abroad office in Global Initiatives started exploring the future of global education for the Honors College.
Erin Wahler, the Honors College’s assistant director for student enrichment, said they wanted to expand on two existing programs: Honors Abroad, the faculty-led study abroad programs that Wahler leads, and the Honors Semester in London, a partnership with AFIS (American Institute for Foreign Study) Abroad.
“We were brainstorming new and unique ways we could engage honors students with people and places around the world that they might not otherwise have the opportunity to explore on their own,” Wahler said.
Enter Project Dragonfly.
Based at Miami, the transformative education initiative with master’s degree programs in Biology offers an unparalleled experiential learning experience in the United States and around the world.
The first cohort of undergraduate students
Since its launch in 1994, Project Dragonfly has brought together thousands of students and built a community of people working to ignite ecological and social change and support conservation and sustainability.
Jill Korach, assistant director of field programs for Project Dragonfly, said, “We thought it was incredible to create a first cohort of undergraduate students starting their Miami experience learning directly from long-established field partners who are leading conservation efforts globally. We were glad to partner with the Honors College to help make that student learning a reality.”
She added, “We’ve always felt like Miami has such a neat global vision for the university, but because our Project Dragonfly students are mostly off-campus graduate students, we haven’t had nearly the connections to on-campus undergraduate students.”
Korach and Wahler co-led the trip to Belize, where they saw the students gain much from the experience.
"Our students made new Miami Honors friends in our group of 20 all while experiencing conservation in action in Belize,” Korach said, adding that visiting the Belize Zoo and Tropical Education Center, and Community Baboon Sanctuary, allowed students to see firsthand what it takes to save wildlife.
![A handmade chocolate drink served in traditional Maya bowls from Ajaw Chocolate, a family-run business preserving the art of traditional Maya chocolate-making. Background: Students learning to add local honey and cayenne to their chocolate drink as is customary in ancient Maya chocolate-making. [photo courtesy of Erin Wahler]](../../_files/images/2025/09/chocolate.jpg)
Coffee, chocolate, and more
They made other discoveries, too.
“Our time visiting local coffee (Oxmul Coffee) and chocolate makers (Ajaw Chocolate & Crafts) offered us an understanding of how community experts can help drive new initiatives in a way that supports the Belizean people,” Korach said. “Students were able to see many examples of leadership and consider the leaders they are and want to be as they move through their time at Miami."
The study abroad trip to Belize was just the beginning. All 20 students are enrolled in their first Honors class together this fall. The UNV 171H class, taught by Wahler, is part of the First-Year Research Experience and has been adapted to provide students with a strong foundation for their honors education.
Wahler said the course asks students to continue and expand upon the work they started in Belize in three key domains:
- Study Abroad Education – who are we now that we’ve returned home, and what happens next as a result of this global experience?
- Interdisciplinary Research – what does scholarship look like at the undergraduate level, and how can we use Miami resources to begin our own research?
- Honors Education – inquiry, reflective learning, and leadership development are central tenets undergirding the Honors College mission to “graduate citizen scholars.”
Students will continue working together to learn about community-based conservation and the U.N. SDGs, but they’ll begin to explore these topics through the lens of their own passions. Their coursework culminates in a research proposal, which could even end up planting the seed for their Honors Senior Project — the final honors requirement, to be completed in the student’s final year of their Honors College education.
‘It’s a partnership we intend to grow’
Zeb Baker, inaugural dean of the Honors College, said this new collaboration with Project Dragonfly demonstrates the Honors College's commitment to providing students with “opportunities for international study at the honors-level from the earliest possible point in a student's pursuit of an honors education at Miami.”
That commitment can be seen in how Miami’s Honors College is one of just a few nationwide to have its own study abroad program.
“But it is also a story of a unique and innovative cross-collaboration and partnership between two Miami units — the Honors College and Project Dragonfly — that have found common ground and common values from which to inspire our students' exploration and engagement with the world around them,” Baker said.
“This is Project Dragonfly's first foray into working with undergraduates, and it is a partnership that we intend to grow and build for years to come.”
Discovering Belize
While this was Wahler’s first trip to Belize, Korach has been there many times before. She loved seeing the students discover the country that she said is small enough to drive across in five hours.
"After a packed week of activities and discussions, one of my favorite moments was looking out my window on our last day to see most of our class awake and wanting to take in one more very early sunrise over the sea,” Korach said. “That image will stick with me of how engaged our group was throughout this experience together."
Wahler praised the Belize Zoo and Tropical Education Center, the nonprofit wildlife sanctuary, for its partnership during the trip. She enjoyed watching the students bond during the shared experience.
“Everything about this program was new to me: Belize, the ‘pre-semester,’ taking an entire group of students abroad before they had started college. I knew we were prepared and in the very best hands with Project Dragonfly and our partners in Belize, but there was still that unknown. Would this work? Would the students have a good experience? Would they make friends?
“I’m still having trouble wiping the smile off my face. Belize was perfect. It was the quiet moments for me that really stuck out; when someone shared how much fun they were having, or watching the friendships form in the pre-dawn hours because we’re all exhausted but excited for the adventure to come,” Wahler said.
Community is a cornerstone of the Honors College, especially in a student’s first year, she noted.
The 20 Honors students who traveled to Belize were from all of Miami’s academic colleges: the College of Arts and Science; the College of Education, Health, and Society; the Farmer School of Business; the College of Creative Arts; the College of Engineering and Computing; and the College of Liberal Arts and Applied Science.
“To have that kind of rich diverse cohort experience is a very important thing for the Honors College and for these workshops,” Wahler said. “We are very intentional about that because then you’re able to bring in students who have such a varied learning experience and such a different perspective. They are then able to share with the rest of the group."
‘An experience I will never forget’
Phelan said she has always loved Miami. Her dad played football for the university, so she was familiar with the campus before she became a student. She also was aware of the Farmer School of Business and study abroad opportunities such as the Luxembourg campus.
“The trip to Belize was an experience I will never forget. At first, it was a big culture shock. The heat, the bugs, and the simplicity of daily life were very different from what I was used to. After a day or so, we started to settle in and appreciate how little you really need to be happy,” Phelan said.
“Every morning, we would go birdwatching, take time for what we called silent appreciation moments, and write reflections in our journals. Those moments helped us slow down and actually take in what was happening around us.”
At the Belize Baboon Sanctuary, the director of the sanctuary’s Women’s Conservation Group shared her story with the students. Their guide, Robert, taught them about natural remedies, how to make dishes that reduce food waste, and how to make simple household tools by hand.
“Some of the most eye-opening moments came when we visited local coffee and chocolate makers,” Phelan recalled. “They walked us through their entire process — from the raw beans to the final product. Everything was done by hand, and they were so passionate about their work.”
Phelan gained something else from the excursion to Belize — close friendships as she begins her journey at Miami.
“Looking back, this trip taught me how important it is to slow down, connect with people, and stay curious. It was the perfect way to start my time at Miami."
