What’s it like to be a student at UASD?

Some of you have recently started reading my blog or just joined my support team, and as I’m going through the process of reacquainting myself with the main university we’re serving in the Dominican Republic, I deemed it important to share with you a little bit about UASD (Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo).

There are 120,000 students on the main campus, making it nearly double the size of the largest university in the States (which happens to be my alma mater: ASU). It’s a public university with a history; it was the first university in the Americas, founded in 1538.

So what’s it like to be a Uasdiano (student at UASD)? While tuition can be as low as 6 pesos (equivalent of 16 cents) per credit hour for those that attended public high school, they can spend a small fortune just getting to and from school everyday. For someone who takes class Monday-Saturday (which is quite common), they can spend about $15 a week taking public transportation.

Another challenge students are faced with is an inadequate study environment. I went to class with a friend once and the lights were out, some students had to stand or sit on the floor since there weren’t enough desks, and the sound of construction outside made it nearly impossible to hear the professor.

Students walking to class while construction of the Engineering building is in progress

Of course UASD has some redeeming qualities that makes it worthwhile to study there. Besides the fact that it is the most affordable option in the country, it is also well recognized by academic institutions abroad making transfers and advanced education more attainable.

What I love most about UASD culture is the ease of meeting people on campus. You can’t go far without seeing a group of students sitting leisurely on the grass or friends spending their free hours in between classes on a shady bench. Ask one to tell you about Dominican culture and they’ll talk to you for hours. I so enjoy their openness to make new friends and jump into conversation on any subject.

Spiritually speaking, most Uasdianos belong to a church (Catholic, Evangelical, Protestant being the most common). Collectively, Vida Estudiantil and the Stint team last year had over 1,000 spiritual conversations on campus. Something we learned from those discussions was that being affiliated with a religion doesn’t necessarily reflect a genuine faith in God. Many students that consistently attended church and believed in the divinity of Christ and existence of God would say they didn’t feel ready to have a personal relationship with Him. To illustrate how cultural religion in the Dominican Republic is, we learned that even atheists were familiar with Scripture quoting multiple passages. 

There are a lot of faithful believers at UASD, and it’s encouraging to see groups of people meeting for Bible studies around campus throughout the week. But if I were to choose one verse that reflected the general spiritual need for UASD it would be this:

“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’  But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’”    Matthew 7:21-23 NLT

I’m still learning about what God’s doing at UASD. This week our team will be heading to campus daily to do some intentional studying of the university and its students so that we can minister more effectively to them. Pray for the students of UASD and our team so that more people can come to have an abundant life with God!