The event I attended was a service event hosted by CRIS at the Columbus Global Academy on December 1, 2018. The Columbus Global Academy is a school for refugee students and immigrants who are seeking to learn English and become acclimated to education in the United States. The service project involved the painting of a mural inside the school. International Affairs Scholars have visited this school before and painted other murals or small pieces of artwork throughout the school. The mural we focused on painting was called the Tree of Life. The Tree of Life painting contains a variety of animals surrounding a tree with one small child reading a book. The animals that are depicted represent symbols from folklore and stories gathered from various cultures from around the world. Ideally, these animals from certain stories and cultures will help connect to the international students at the school.

The painting process was an enjoyable experience and it did not feel like a challenging community service task. It was a relaxed environment that involved tracing the artwork and then actually painting it. I believe the event was a valuable community-building experience for the international affairs scholars who attended because I had a chance to meet and interact with various students in International Affairs who I had previously never met. Personally, I thought it was a worthwhile experience because it will help the students at the Columbus Global Academy feel more comfortable, or possibly make them happier. I think any way we can help improve their school is very important.

Helping with refugees is an important experience for me because, in high school, I participated in a senior capstone project focused on the Syrian Refugee Crisis. During this time, I learned a lot about how refugees would struggle when they would move to America and I met several refugees who went to high schools in my local area. I believe the students at the Columbus Global Academy are much like the refugees from my hometown so I can only imagine how difficult it is for them. The CRIS staff member on site, Jeremy Hollon, mentioned how some of the students in the school are greatly traumatized by the situations they have experienced. Specifically, he mentioned how the bells in the schools have scared students, causing them to flee the building because those students are traumatized by loud sounds such as gunshots or explosions.

This service site is related to international affairs because the school itself is focused on international students. The refugee crisis facing the whole world is a massive issue that affects international affairs on a broad spectrum, from human rights violations to foreign policy. Furthermore, the education of people coming to America will help them become accustomed to living in the US and learning in the US school systems so that they will have a brighter future here. In class, we have discussed a few examples of countries where refugees are coming from and there were presentations given about specific countries with refugee problems.