For my service event, I chose to join the Ohio State community in participating in Spring into Service during the morning of March 23, 2019. During this event, the student cohort within the Office of Student Life, Pay It Forward provides opportunities for students to participate in environmentally-focused service events around Columbus. Fellow buckeyes and I met at the Union at 8am to receives our assignments for the morning before we left in provided transportation to our different sites.

Our International Affairs Scholars group was assigned to work with the non-profit organization Flow. We worked alongside the Olentangy River. The leadership of the organization were very welcoming and excited for us being there to help. They explained how trees and other plants can be harmful or beneficial to an environment based on how and when they are introduced. If they are harmful and not native, they are considered to be invasive species and should be eradicated. The leadership of Flow specified two trees in the area near the river that needed to be cut down because of the harm they do to the habitat near the river. This was the main purpose of the service event that day. We were suppose to cut down the callery pear trees and the honeysuckle trees in the area. They taught our group how to recognize these trees and gave us loppers and chainsaws to cut the trees down. After a while of cutting down trees, we were instructed to create piles of the trees. Some piles are pictured above.

This bring means to why this topic and event relates to International Affairs. These trees are some of the many invasive species of plants and animals that are intentionally or incidentally brought from foreign countries. These species can be brought through many avenues such as but not limited to trade and immigration.

After volunteering, we were taken back to the Union for lunch and a panel on ways we, as students, can practice habits favoring sustainability in our everyday lives. There were three panelists. Two of them work in the Ohio State community in sustainability aspects, and the other panelist is a current student who started her own student organization about sustainability and recycling efforts. They all talked about how they became passionate about sustainability and what they do in their everyday lives either at their jobs or at home to practice sustainability. They gave us easy tips and techniques of how we, as students, can incorporate sustainability in our lives slowly in order for it to become a habit we no longer think about. I gained knowledge of ways to advocate for and incorporate sustainability into my life that I never thought of. The student panelist told us about how coffee shops and smoothie shops will use our own cups to put our drinks in we bring them. As a result, a lot less styrofoam and plastic cups will be used, decreasing the amount of waste they create. Another helpful tip I gained was to use reusable straws and to encourage my friends and family to join me in adopting these tactics to promote sustainability. I intend to incorporate what I learned in my everyday life, and I’m really thankful that I was able to make a difference in my community that way I did while learning about sustainability.

This past weekend I had a super-enriching experience volunteering for the 2nd Symposium on Indigenous Languages and Cultures of Latin America in conjunction with the 4th Symposium on Teaching and Learning Indigenous Languages of Latin America on Sunday, October 28th for the entirety of the program that day from the hours of 8am-2pm. I primarily worked in the Faculty Club and the Thompson Library but the symposium was also held in a variety of locations across campus during the other  three days it was held. This event relates to the topic of International Affairs because of its emphasis and focus on the indigenous languages and cultures of Latin America and the immersive atmosphere of speaking the Spanish language throughout the symposium.

So far, this event is most definitely my favorite event I’ve ever attended for International Affairs Scholars. This is because I gained so much from this experience. Professionally, I was able to take part and witness a more formal environment than what I am used to attending classes everyday. This environment allowed me to utilize certain soft skills that benefited me to practice and exercise. Personally, I met and engaged with many native Spanish speakers and understood more and spoke better than I expected. This checked off a bucket-list item and a personal goal for me that made me feel really proud of myself and affirmed my love for Hispanic culture and my decision to keep studying Spanish. This also benefited me personally because the people I met were also some of the most inclusive, kind and helpful people I’ve ever encountered. They seemed genuinely interested in my journey as an undergraduate student, my studies, and my interest and love for the Spanish culture. We shared our backgrounds and what led us to be at the symposium that day. We also talked about the differences between the universities in the United States and Central America, which was an interesting discussion, and some people were even impressed with my speaking abilities. I even met someone that came all the way from Ecuador to Ohio for the symposium. Overall, everyone was just so open, kind, and willing to connect.

Academically as someone minoring in Spanish, I gained and learned so much just from immersing myself in the environment of people speaking only Spanish and navigating my way through that. I payed attention to the cadence of how native speakers spoke and asked them questions about the Spanish language and about some of the several indigenous languages discussed at the symposium. Also because I am minoring in Spanish, this event lends itself to all that I’ve learned in my Spanish classes at The Ohio State University. Depending on the different Hispanic countries focused on during the class, we, the students, also learned about the indigenous languages specific to those countries. Learning vocabulary and practicing pronunciation all those times in class really solidified my knowledge and helped me feel confident when I spoke and not as uncomfortable as I thought I would before I volunteered. This experience will remain a highlight of my college career.