Retroactive Experience: Refuge-UC
As the grandchild of refugees and the daughter of immigrants, I was inspired to get involved with Refuge-UC. Refuge-UC is a student organization focused on creating accessibility to education for refugee students in the Cincinnati area through mentorship. Every week, I would go see my mentee Sammichikya at Aiken High School. Whether it was playing uno, talking about our cultures, our favorite bands, our favorite or least favorite classes, how college works, her interest in agriculture, or our goals of becoming doctors, Sammichikya and I were able to learn so much about each other and develop not only a meaningful connection, but also a friendship. Originally from Nepal, Sammichikya taught me about her country’s traditions, her holidays, her favorite foods, and I was also able to learn how similar Nepali culture and language is to my Pakistani culture.
As a mentor, I was able to learn so many valuable lessons from my mentee. She taught me the importance of seeing things from new perspectives and how to try to put myself in others' shoes. Although my mentee and I struggled with a language barrier at first, once we were able to connect and learn about our common interests and things we were passionate about, we were able to slowly overcome it. We were able to problem solve together and adapt to each other's needs at the same time.
Not only was I able to serve as a mentor, but also as a member of the Refuge-UC executive board as the Public Relations chair. With our organization having only around a dozen members at the beginning of the year, I had to brainstorm different ways to attract and recruit more members. By using social media to promote our organization in various ways, we were able to attract and gain numerous members. I was also able to create new initiatives such as the creation of committees in order to help our members get more involved in the planning processes as well. Being the leader of the college and career guides committee, I was able to expand on my leadership skills and learn how to work closely with a team to achieve a goal.
This experience also helped me work on my public speaking and communication skills due to having to lead meetings, as well as work closely with the teachers at Aiken High School. From this experience, I have grown in my creative thinking skills, my confidence, my interpersonal skills, my public speaking skills, my patience, my adaptivity, as well as my responsibility. I have learned the importance of giving back to your local community and doing so with an open mind in order to learn perspectives different from your own.
