UM-Flint professor's Fulbright experience advances student-centered teaching in Namibia

When Susan Gano-Phillips, professor of psychology at the University of Michigan-Flint, arrived in Namibia for her 2025 Fulbright fellowship, she expected to share her expertise in leadership development and family systems theory. What she didn't anticipate was how profoundly the experience would reshape her understanding of education, community and what it means to be human.

"I chose Namibia because there was a good match between the university's needs and my expertise, but also because I have limited experience with countries in that region of the world," said Gano-Phillips during her initial interview before going to Namibia. "This allowed me to immerse myself in a new culture and learn how different forces such as family, community, global events, labor and market trends help shape how they see the world."

During her year at the University of Namibia, Gano-Phillips taught courses, supervised undergraduate honors thesis students, presented research at a conference, and developed a comprehensive new faculty induction and mentoring program. But her impact extended far beyond the official scope of her Fulbright project.

Annelisa Murangi, chair of the Department of Psychology and Social Work and a senior lecturer in industrial psychology at UNAM, watched as Gano-Phillips seamlessly integrated into the department. "She came and just became one of us," Murangi said. "She was not isolated, acting like, 'No, I'm a Fulbright Scholar'-instead, she said 'Okay, the department needs help here, I can help there, I can teach and supervise these things,' and she got to work."

What struck colleagues and students most was Gano-Phillips' student-centered teaching approach, which contrasted sharply with the traditional lecture-based methods prevalent at UNAM. In her Systems Theory course, she employed active learning strategies that encouraged discussion, practical application, and cultural exchange.

Eliana Ndeunyema, a student in that course, described the transformation. "We're used to receiving presentation slides and notes that are kind of copy-paste-what the lecturer says in class is exactly what is in the presentation," she said. "With Professor Susan, we did a lot of discussion, group meetings, exploring what the notes were saying. She gave us the opportunity to express what we understood."

For Kesego Karango, whose undergraduate honors thesis Gano-Phillips supervised, the experience proved transformative. Karango's thesis focused on the mediating role of self-compassion in the relationship between daily hassles and well-being among UNAM students, and her research culminated in a presentation at the International Conference on Emerging Trends in Psychosocial Wellbeing-something she never imagined possible.

"I didn't think I could do it, but she encouraged me," Karango said. "Her feedback was very punctual and quick, informative and educational. She introduced me to new ways of looking for articles and engaging with the work."

Gano-Phillips' supervision extended beyond academic guidance. "She made me believe that I can do things," Karango said. "On a personal level, she subdued my anxiety around failure. She helped me learn how to scrutinize my own work."

The cultural immersion also exposed Gano-Phillips to stark realities she had never experienced firsthand. "I had read about income inequality, but I didn't have the experience of what that means for everyday life," she said. The capital city of Windhoek has approximately 60,000 people living in tin shacks without running water or electricity, surviving primarily on maize porridge.

"Some of my students lived in these kinds of environments," Gano-Phillips said. "I had one student text me during a four-day weekend asking if I had any work that needed to be done around the house or garden because he needed to earn money so he could pay for transport to get to school the following week."

Despite these challenges, she was struck by her students' optimistic perspective. "Namibian students believe that their education is their opportunity for a brighter future. They're very resilient," she said. "They show up and try to get whatever they can from their experiences so they can get a job and improve circumstances for their whole family."

This understanding transformed how she approached teaching. During examinations, she brought snacks to class. "Some of my students hadn't eaten that day," she said. "If you're hungry, you're not in the same mental space to take an examination as someone who is well-fed. It didn't cost much to bring in cookies, chips and juice-it's about treating students as human beings first."

The pinnacle of Gano-Phillips' cultural immersion came when Ndeunyema invited her to a traditional village wedding near Okongo. The journey alone-a seven-hour drive followed by a roughly 9-mile trek on a sandy two-track barely passable with four-wheel drive-foreshadowed the extraordinary experience ahead.

"The village normally has 15 to 20 residents but swelled to over 300 for the wedding," Gano-Phillips said. "There were people and tents everywhere. There was no running water and the only electricity was provided by a small generator brought in specifically for the wedding." As the only white woman present, Gano-Phillips stood out. "A man whom I didn't know, in his 40s, came up to me and said, 'I've never seen a white woman at a village wedding. You are in a very distinctive position to be part of this. White people don't come to our village weddings," she recalled.

But Gano-Phillips didn't want to be merely an observer. "I asked if I could help with food preparation," she said. "I was fortunate to assist with cooking. It was an experience I will never forget."

Ndeunyema vividly remembered her professor's enthusiasm. "I was initially surprised about her getting her hands dirty! Nothing is particularly clean in the village; there's a lot of working with your hands-prepping food, cleaning, even eating with your hands. It really shocked me that she was willing to be one of us," Ndeunyema said. "She would say, 'I am one of you, I will join you, I will try all of this new food.' Her openness gave me confidence to explain and share more about my culture."

Scenes from the village wedding, with older and younger women dressed in traditional Ovambo colors and prints.

The wedding showcased traditional practices rarely witnessed by outsiders. Without refrigeration, everything had to be prepared fresh-cattle were slaughtered, chickens caught and killed on-site. Water, brought in 10-liter containers, was incredibly precious and used multiple times.

"She killed chickens for the first time and helped us prepare most of the meal," Ndeunyema said. "She wanted to be in the whole experience, not treated like a guest. The bride and groom were very honored that she came."

Back in Windhoek, Gano-Phillips developed a comprehensive, evidence-based new faculty induction program following interviews with more than 30 department heads and faculty members. "She spent quite a lot of time on it," Murangi said. "It was inclusive and evidence-based, focused specifically on the faculty of Health Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, about 250 people total."

For Murangi, one quality stood out above all others: "She's so teachable. She has so much to give, yet she would humble herself. This ability to see strengths in others-'you're very good at this and this'-that influenced our department's culture the whole time she was here."

As Gano-Phillips returns to UM-Flint, she brings a transformed perspective that is already reshaping her teaching in Psychology 313: Human Development. "Living in another culture changes your understanding," she said. "I feel my teaching will be informed by a more holistic cross-cultural understanding of whatever concepts I'm covering. I can now speak from experience and authority about how families function differently between tribes and cultures within Namibia, how collectivism is practiced there, and how those differences impact how we, as Americans, might relate to them."

She's particularly committed to addressing the underrepresentation of African populations in psychological research. "Africa is rising-half the population is 18 years old or younger. Yet 95% of research and populations in developmental psychology come from WEIRD societies: Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic. We have to expand how we think about cross-cultural differences and the research process," she said.

The experience also deepened her understanding of what education truly means. "It's not enough in this day and age to study only people close to us, those who look like us and have experiences like us," she said. "If we really want to understand the multicultural world in which we live, we have to seek out people's experiences that are very different from our own. We gain a greater understanding of ourselves, our cultures, and the diversity in the world."

Ndeunyema, now graduated and pursuing opportunities in clinical psychology, credits Gano-Phillips with fundamentally changing her approach to learning and life. "She created a shift and difference at UNAM. She got us out of our comfort zone. She changed how we learned-to question our personality and backgrounds, understand it more, not feel bad or threatened, and understand why the systems are the way that they are."

Reflecting on her time in Namibia, Gano-Phillips expressed profound gratitude. "There are similarities and distinctiveness in every cultural experience. We're so much the same, but where we're born and where we live shape us so much. I hope I've brought some of my world to them, just as they've enriched mine immeasurably."