Recognizing the need to build global minded citizens, higher education institutions are increasingly trying to find ways to leverage their international programs to develop students' intercultural competence. The MA in Global Leadership at Royal Roads University, Canada, created an international partnership in Ecuador that serves to go beyond the traditional student study abroad or service learning focus, and instead focuses on developing competencies of global mindedness and strategic relationships. In this paper, we present an analysis on how an international student group engaged in building dynamic partnerships within a Global South country to create change for sustainable development initiatives of mutual concern. Through a case example, we describe how these partnerships evolved and adapted in ways that enhanced the learning needs of the students while simultaneously supporting the development of new educational opportunities for Ecuadorians. To illustrate, this paper delineates the activities that members of the program undertook to connect and develop a mutuality of relationship across diverse stakeholders in Ecuador. The authors analyze this network building process from the perspective of cultural context, building trust and influence, and responding to social development needs in host communities.