Albania , Community Service , Eurasia
When I first came to the University of The Incarnate Word (UIW) in San Antonio, I had the perception that it would be hard to find a good place to do my community service, because this is a pretty big city, and I didn’t know how to move around. To my surprise, finding the perfect place to volunteer was easier …
Castleton University , China , Community Service , East Asia and the Pacific , Israel , Middle East and North Africa
The Global UGRAD students complete a minimum of 20 hours community service during their academic semester in the United States. While many are just beginning to think about how they’d like to spend their time volunteering, others have already started! Here is Aarif Badarny’s (Israel) account of his first experience doing community service near his host campus, Castleton University. On …
Alumni , Community Service , Costa Rica , Diversity and Inclusion , Emporia State University , University of Southern Indiana
My Journey to the United Nations Jean Pierre Mora Casasola (Costa Rica), Global UGRAD 2014-2015, Emporia State University That awkward moment when you are asked to write down your goals on a piece of paper. No matter if they are short, medium or long term goals, the truth is that we do not always know where we are going. This situation …
Alumni , Community Service , East Asia and the Pacific , Humboldt State University , Indonesia , University of Utah
Rizki Permatasari, Global UGRAD 2013-2014 , University of Utah When I reflect back on the three years since I have returned home, it is really amazing to see where life has taken me after Global UGRAD. I have taken several jobs, graduated, and participated in various volunteering activities. Since late 2014, I have been working as a part-time TOEFL instructor at …
Alumni , Community Service , Diversity and Inclusion , El Salvador , Tunisia , Venezuala
Each year, the U.S. Department of State hosts its Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF) project competition which supports alumni initiatives that promote shared values and innovative solutions to global challenges. This year, out of 1,014 project submissions, 68 teams have been selected as finalists. The coolest part? Four of these teams are composed of Global UGRAD Alumni! Read on to learn more …
Global UGRAD participants continually amaze us with their commitment to serving others. Please find a sample of their spring semester community service activities below: Ghida Bakri (Lebanon), Presbyterian College Ghida has volunteered with three different organizations this semester. She first served as an Arabic-to-English translator at a local women’s shelter, and appreciated being able “to bridge [the] gap between [her] …
Community service is a hallmark of the Global UGRAD Program. Not only is volunteerism a way of paying it forward, but it also provides ample opportunity for participants to get a closer look at their host communities and local resources. “I wanted to contribute to my local community because in this short period of time I became a real part …
Albania , Community Service , Eurasia , Kansas State University
Erisa Murati, Albania, Kansas State University My last but most significant volunteering experience was on Saturday, December 3rd at the Lighthouse Clothes Closet and Food Pantry center, which offers free clothes and food packages for people in need. My responsibilities there were almost the same as the ones at Encore Shop, organizing food on the shelves, cleaning the food pantry, checking and picking up …