The following is an editorial in which all views, thoughts, or opinions belong solely to the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Drury Mirror.

Studying abroad is an experience that many people at Drury are privileged enough to take part in. This is an excellent opportunity to learn something that cannot be taught in a classroom. In the current climate, it is becoming increasingly important to create a space of cultural exchange, and studying abroad is an authentic and valuable way to do this.

Service-learning abroad

Many study abroad programs now offer a service-learning component. The goal of this component is to have the study abroad student learn from their role and work within their chosen community. If you are a foreign language student, this could mean that you would work in the language that you are studying. There are many types of service-learning projects to appeal to students in various fields of study.

Each student ready to travel to a different country and participate in a service-learning project hopes that they will leave a positive impact on the community they have served.

In order for this to happen, I believe students need to educate themselves on how they can experience another culture fully, while simultaneously making sure that they do not create any sort of unintentional negative impact on the community they are trying to serve.

Things to look out for

If you are looking to study abroad, specifically for a service- learning component, there are several things you should consider and research before you choose a program.

Service-learning is not just a means to an end to obtain a community engagement credit or even for you to ultimately become better at a skill that you want to use in your career.

The focus is often shifted to the American student, and how they will benefit from the project. While this is valuable and service-learning is an effective way for us to learn, the needs of the people that the project is designed to help can sometimes be obscured by this focus. Often, the needs of the organization and community abroad, paradoxically, do not always come first.

Alan Keith-Lucas, a prominent social worker and professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, devoted his life to social work and community improvement.

In an article from 1972, he wrote, “To help another human being may sound like a very simple process. Actually it is one of the hardest things that anyone can be called to do.”

The truth is, even if you really have a desire to help a community, the desire to be helpful is not enough. Lasting change is not built in a two-week intensive program, or even in a semester. You are not going to change anything by yourself. This is something that you have to be fully aware of going into a project in another community.

Making a real impact

This does not mean that you cannot have a positive impact. The way that an individual student can focus on doing something genuinely positive is by making sure that you are working toward something sustainable. This means becoming one cog in an organized machine. The best service-learning projects are those that have been in place long before you step off the tarmac and will be in place long after you go home.

Even if you never saw yourself shoveling mulch or pulling up weeds when you pictured your humanitarian trip to Eastern Asia or Sub-Saharan Africa, that kind of labor is sometimes the best contribution you can make. Sustainability is the single most important consideration if you decide to do any service-learning project.

For example, if you are part of a program where you will be teaching English, though this can apply to any subject matter, it is easy to give a few lessons on colors or action verbs. What can be difficult is finding out exactly what lessons students before you taught and how you can build from them.

Then, go further. If the program you are studying through does not have a set curriculum, create one for the students after you. Students in your community cannot learn if they receive only a few unorganized, often overlapping lessons. A larger plan is required. This is true for all community projects – if the necessary structures are not in place, it is your responsibility to create them.

Becoming a global citizen

The biggest impact you have might not even be through the work you are doing at all, but through the people you interact with while you are abroad.

There is a large amount of discourse going on currently about what it means to be culturally aware, including conversations about cultural appropriation, euro-centrism and global citizenship.

One of the most important components of studying abroad is creating those individual connections between yourself and people within that culture. Even creating a positive image of what an American looks and acts like for the group of people you interact with can go far toward improving intercultural relationships.

Studying abroad is an experience that everyone who is able should take part in during their career at Drury. Studying abroad is a unique experience, and you might not have another chance to travel and experience other cultures in this way again after you graduate – so take advantage of the privilege of being able to visit a new place and new people.

However, if you are participating in service-learning, just make sure you know how to make your trip have a positive impact on the people you are there to help.

Article by Lauren Barclay.