Learning Through Service

At this week’s  2016 Deans’ Service Scholars Capstone Presentations, 58 participating NYU Shanghai students reflected on the value of their experiences, over spring break, volunteering in Hunan, Henan, Yunnan, Guizhou and Cambodia. See their trip presentations.

After a Day of Service in Shanghai during the fall semester​ and weekly preparatory lectures, small group seminars and a school wide fundraiser during the spring, the service scholars headed out to contribute to a variety of local community building activities. They delivered sacks of rice on their backs to families in need, constructed a playground from scratch, facilitated English language lessons to local kids, assisted families struggling with AIDS/HIV, and even planted hundreds of trees in an effort to reforest the snub-nosed monkey’s natural habitat.

The team that worked on youth education and community development in Cambodia summed up their experiences saying, "where there's a way to understand, there's a way to serve."  The students also talked about realizing they too were being affected by and learning from the very  communities they were helping.

“I think this volunteer work is quite meaningful. Students working together, sharing experiences towards a common effort...it will have an impact on their whole life as they develop their social responsibility and personal vision about the world,” said Chancellor Yu Lizhong.

The student scholars were guided by the Chi Heng Foundation, Yunnan Green Environment Development Foundation, PEER, Raleigh China, and New Hope Cambodia.