Student Fellows and Staff Participate in International Service

Hannah Moran, Communications Committee

SLFPiers are constantly looking for ways to get involved, whether that involvement is on campus, within the Marquette community, or throughout the world. On a smaller campus and community scale, it seems like opportunities jump out at us all the time. But it can be hard to find service and leadership opportunities abroad, seeing as they’re much less accessible and tend to be pretty expensive. The SLFP wants you to know that they most definitely do exist, and should you choose to take advantage of them, they will be 110% worth your time and money that you put into them. I’ve interviewed several staff members and student fellows, all of whom have had life-changing experiences volunteering abroad and recommend it to all students looking to broaden their cultural horizons and grow as leaders.

Our very own Jon Barch and Rachel Harris took 18 students to India in May of 2010. The service projects took place in a city called Palampur and were broken down into 8 separate projects, including teaching children English, volunteering at an orphanage, and teaching young women how to ride bicycles. The group initially stayed in home stays in Jai Pur, but the bulk of their stay was in hotels and camps in Palampur. Although the service projects were essentially the purpose of this trip, the shocking culture and sight-seeing were just as memorable. They saw things of great magnificence, like the Taj Mahal, Jai Pur (a traditional Indian market town), the spectacular view from a train as they went through the Himalayas, and rode elephants in Amber Fort. They also got to learn first-hand the meaning of the term “culture shock.” The most obvious cultural difference to the SLFP was the treatment of women. Women of India certainly do not have the same rights as men. Some of the highlights of this service trip included the food, bonding and spending time with the children at the schools and orphanage, and of course, reflecting on themselves as leaders and growing as people. Jon says he loved hearing the students reflect and learn about themselves through an international experience. Rachel learned something in particular about “servant leadership.” From her volunteer experiences in India, she feels like a whole new light was shone on the them.

Banana Block medical student Cassy Hastings attended a three-week service project in Tanzania. The trip was organized through a program called GAP Medics, an international study abroad program for medical students. The service took place in a hospital in Iringa. There, Cassy had the opportunity to shadow doctors and eventually examine her own patients. She also volunteered at a Tosmaganga orphanage. At the orphanage, she taught English, spent quality time with the children, and did household chores like laundry. During her free time, Cassy was able to hike trails with breathtaking scenery. She also had the opportunity to experience a safari ride, coming meters away from wild African animals, as well as attend a traditional African church service. Even though Cassy didn’t know a single person in the GAP medic group until she got off the plane in Tanzania and only knew the very basics of Swahili, she still says the service trip was more than worth her time and money.

Further North in Europe, Ireland was the destination for another service trip. In May 2012 Dave Bonsall and Cara Kamps took 13 students and two other chaperones to four very different cities in Ireland: Dublin, Belfast, Derry, and Glen Cholm Cille. Dublin was their first stop, where they volunteered at a senior center, worked with elderly people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, volunteered in the schools and with students who had been in trouble with the law. Their next destination was Belfast, an industrial city of about 270,000, which used to be a place of extreme religious tension between Catholics and Protestants. Belfast is where the Titanic was built. The group had the opportunity to the Titanic exhibit and learn about the story and making of the Titanic. Derry was their next stop, the last walled city ever to be built in Europe. They had the chance to walk across the Peace Bridge, a recently built foot/bike path connecting two parts of the city separated by the River Foyle. The last stop on the service trip was Glen Cholm Cille, a traditional rural town on the coast. The service here consisted of a beach clean-up and the renovation of a cultural center, where they planted flowers and painted. In their free time, the group members had the chance to hear traditional Irish music in small pubs at night, as well as talk to the locals and learn about the heritage and culture of the area. Dave Bonsall learned about the importance of gaining confidence in a leadership situation, and particularly enjoyed the sight-seeing that the group did. Geneva Martin, an SLFP graduate, says she learned about the importance of domestic service and really enjoyed the atmosphere of Glen Cholm Cille, the culture of the area, and talking with the locals. Cara Kamps learned about the importance of communication when taking so many people to such a foreign country. She also enjoyed the Titanic exhibit in Belfast.

Sometimes people forget how much there is to learn from other countries. The international opportunities that NMU provides through SLFP, Superior Edge, and the Center for Student Enrichment are all ones worth looking into and taking advantage of. According to the students and staff members that I interviewed, nothing can replace the learning experience that comes as a result of international service projects.

If you’re interested in volunteering abroad, stop by 1206 University Center to learn more about current opportunities! Or you can visit the Volunteer Abroad web page: http://www.nmu.edu/internationalprograms/node/47