Service Learning and Community Service

STEP Signature Project- The Mundo Toronto Experience 2024

My STEP project was an eight-day educational road trip to Toronto, Canada organized by Ohio State’s Multicultural Understanding through Nontraditional Discovery Opportunities (MUNDO).  We spent most of the trip exploring the city visiting museums, cultural centers and local tourist attractions including popular neighborhoods and food markets. In addition to sight-seeing and exploring, we volunteered at a local church’s food bank, cleaning, advertising as well as helping the facilitators organize and sell food and canned goods to the residents.  

A part of my reason for this trip was about stepping out of my comfort zone and being more open minded about the world. After a challenging yet successful semester, I was eager to travel and experience another environment as I am not that much of an extrovert. During the journey to Toronto, I connected with so many people through meaningful conversations, shared interests and learning experiences. I am extremely proud of myself because sometimes, I have a hard time maintaining conversations with new people. Other than that, I was able to get over my fear of exploring the city alone and did. As I walked through the different neighborhoods, buying things and trying new foods, I noticed how community oriented the city was. In addition to that, being in a new environment made me realize how comfortable I had become staying in one place. Most importantly, I realized I was afraid to do things on my own regardless of how many times I have had to. Upon my return home, I was able to reflect on the bus through the pictures and videos I took as well as the conversations I had with the people I met.  

I thoroughly enjoyed every single activity we did. Since we drove through Detroit, Michigan, we visited the “Gateway to Freedom International Memorial” monument and discussed the journey to freedom of Black people, through the Underground Railroad to the North. Seeing the statues in person allowed me to fully understand the strength and resilience of my ancestors as they fought to seize their freedom. On the second day, we visited Royal Ontario Museum, and I was amazed by the historic pieces and artifacts I saw. I thoroughly enjoyed viewing the Chinese artifacts as I was intrigued by the pieces. Since the museum has a one of the largest collections of Chinese architectural pieces, most of my time were spent exploring and learning about the ancient pieces over the many years.  

We also spent some time doing a walking tour learning about Black Canadians and their struggles as they started new lives in a different country upon escaping the United States. I was incredibly intrigued by everything I learned as I had always wondered how Canada’s Black population came about. In addition to learning about the historical figures, we also learned that most of Canada’s Black immigrant population were made up of Jamaicans. Being an immigrant myself, I also learned about the lives of other Black immigrants in a different country.  

Volunteering at the food bank made me realize how privileged I was. Since this was my first volunteering experience outside the country, I considered how out of my element I would have been. However, I underestimated my experience as I was deeply moved by what I saw. The program we worked with was the “Human Intact Services” a non-profit and charity organization founded by a young woman and her father in loving memory of her late mother at Eglinton Avenue. The program was funded by a mattress store and a bed and breakfast attached to the same building. The program’s focus was to give back to the community through the church and its local food bank through affordable pricing food options or free food. I realized that most of the residents could barely afford the priced food regardless of most of the items being at least $1. Other than that, I realized that the church was a haven to most of the residents who stopped by, based on their relationship with the facilitators of the program. As mentioned earlier, I realized how privileged I was extremely grateful to have been given the opportunity to have been a part of something so impactful. 

Prior to visiting Eglinton, we visited two neighborhoods called Chinatown and Kensington market. Both neighborhoods had long strips of shops, restaurants, and vendor carts and I was extremely amazed as we explored both neighborhoods. As we explored Kensington, we were provided with a brief summary of the history of the area by two guides who had lived in the area for years. They discussed gentrification and how the neighborhood was slowly changing and becoming more expensive for the inhabitants. They also mentioned how all inhabitants had come together to fight against the expansion and the gentrification of the neighborhood. Through this, I was able to recognize how important community is in the neighborhoods we visited. I realized that Columbus does not have too many tight knit communities as every neighborhood or institution feels individualized. Growing up in Ghana, I was constantly surrounded by my neighbors and our community. Upon moving to the city of Columbus, I rarely experienced that sense of community, so I was genuinely amazed at the amount of support and safe spaces created through these neighborhoods.  

Overall, this trip was extremely eye opening. From visiting monuments to art and history museums, to exploring different neighborhoods to volunteering at a food bank to visiting an island on a ferry and visiting Niagara Falls in a week made me realize how important it is to broaden my horizons and learn more about the world. I am so blessed to have had this opportunity and I can confidently say it changed my life. This trip made me realize that I do in fact want to spend the rest of my life helping people. Prior to the trip, I was unsure of my major as I was at a crossroads. However, as I had some time to reflect on our learning experiences, I decided to pursue a minor in Communications in addition to my major as a Pre-Health Sciences major. Volunteering at the food bank as well as exploring the different neighborhoods was a huge factor in my decision. I found a new sense of appreciation in the community built by the city’s inhabitants. I also plan on volunteering at local food banks this fall to continue helping people and making a difference. Learning about Indigenous children being stripped away from their parents for most parts of the year, made me appreciate my childhood and my life story even more, as I was able to resonate with that experience. As I visited the different art and history museums, I also found a new appreciation for history and art. I have always loved history, especially through movies and books. On this trip, I discovered a new sense of appreciation for history and art through pictures, sculptures, and artifacts.

 

Service Learning and Community Service Buck-I-Serv Trip: Florida Aquatic Preserves

My project is a Buck-I-Serv trip to the Florida Preserve in St. Petersburg, Florida between December 15th through December 22nd during the Buck-I-Serv winter 2023 trip period. The trip involved volunteering throughout the week traveling to island preserves to remove invasive species, pick up trash, and plant trees.

My assumptions about the world came from environmental attitudes and social interactions. I never thought about the benefits of small islands and how much they are impacted by human activity and harsh weather. The Florida Aquatic Preserves showed my group and I how much work goes into maintaining these islands while keeping human stakeholders satisfied. Furthermore, I learned that traveling and living with a large group of people (college students) can be difficult. My group was diverse and thus had different needs, grocery shopping and travel was hard to manage at times.

It was interesting to learn about aquatic ecosystems and the benefits of small islands. When I initially thought of small islands, I didn’t think that they provide much structure to ecosystems. However, they provide habitat to a variety of species, act as a buffer in storms, filter water, and more. It was also interesting to see how human activity can still impact islands through boating, camping, and harsher storms (possibly due to climate change). Overall, this experience has allowed me to appreciate island habitats more and understand the justifications for managing them along with aquatic ecosystems. Having experience in areas with little standing water, this has given me useful knowledge to handle aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.

The Florida Aquatic Preserves showed my group and I how much work goes into maintaining these islands while keeping human stakeholders satisfied. It showed the “behind-the-scenes” of management in which lots of unseen work, such as when we went to get mulch. Another issue involves possible old equipment, lack of funding, and lack of staff. This makes the work of managing invasives, trash, trails, and planting even more difficult. Stakeholders (those of camp on the island) also need to be considered for positive views of the preserves and sustainable use of the island’s resources such as snags for fire. This overall improves my interest in the management of ecosystems in the future.

Lastly, I learned about managing myself while being a part of a group. Living with a large group with fun to learn about the little details such as shower time, laundry, and dishes. Going grocery shopping with a large group was a learning curve as everyone wanted different things. Making food was mostly done during breakfast and lunchtime as well, so functioning around other people in a small space was fun to navigate. Taking up decision-making and leadership skills was also necessary when group activities were done. Finally, traveling in general through rental cars, lifts, and even booking flights due to bus issues were all great experiences for independence in traveling.

This trip gave me confidence in being more independent in traveling and living without family. Managing food, cleanliness, and space with a large group of college students gave me great experience in college living as a commuting student. Working with the Florida Aquatic Preserves gave me valuable experience relating to my future career goals. Skills learned include trail building, invasive removal, water weighting, and overall handling work in aquatic ecosystems.