Tiffany Edmondson
Staff Writer
It would take testimonies from all 33 people that traveled to Shanghai, China during the Center for Service and Community Engaged Learning (CSCEL) Alternative Break to describe the overall experience. Alternative Break is one of eight programs sponsored by CSCEL that allows students to visit other states and countries to participate in community service projects.
This was the first time the Jackson State University CSCEL program sent students abroad and the first time Dr. Valerie Shelby went on an international trip.
Shelby, the Executive Director for CSCEL, described her experience as awesome because there was so much to learn about the Chinese people and their culture.
One of Shelby’s highlights of the trip was when they visited a nursing home. While they were there, students put on a talent show for the residents. Shelby said the students brought their instruments with them and played musical songs while the residents danced along with the students. Some of the students sung songs for them as well.
“There was a connection between the students and the residents because I guess they saw them as if that could have been their grandparents. The Chinese people are warm, friendly, and very humble. They try to accommodate you as much as they can,” said Shelby.
Many of the students that went to China all agree with Shelby but Nivea Green, a junior business marketing major, said that she learned even more about the college students there.
“They were very welcoming. I found out that the students are not different from us. They like to hang out and do some of the same things that we do on JSU’s campus. Even though they are strict in their studies, they still find time to balance their education and social life,” said Green.
When Green traveled to Shanghai, she said that she needed a break and wanted to take herself out of the element of being in the United States.
“I called my mama to let her know that I made it safely and that was it,” said Green. Now that she’s back, she wants to join the China Initiatives Program at JSU so she can prepare to return to China for six weeks next summer.
This alternative break not only exposed the students to international travel but it also encouraged them to further their studies and learn to speak Chinese abroad. Senior biology major and student government association vice president Christopher Cathey has been preparing for months in his Chinese language class for the alternative break.
After visiting the schools, the nursing home, and interacting with the students on the campus where they lived, he has learned about himself and to appreciate the international students on JSU’s campus.
“We had the chance to be in the shoes of an exchange student. Sometimes we neglect to speak to them and even alienate them on campus,” said Cathey. “I got a chance to see what that felt like and now I want to do more to make them feel welcomed because they treated us good in Shanghai.”
Shelby said that she wanted the students to learn that people are people and they all have the same needs and wants. She hopes that this experience will help students understand that they need to be sensitive to people of other cultures wherever they are in life.
“I want them to also learn how to be caring students, whether they land a job in China of Africa. Regardless, they need to be involved to help make peoples’ lives better and have the social skills to live among any culture of people,” added Shelby.
This program is an example of the many programs that allow students to learn how to be global citizens. Even though this was the first international alternative break, it won’t be the last. Shelby said they are planning other abroad trips for the future.
