After being in the United States for about four months, Tayyeb Mubarik attended a volunteer event to wrap gifts for Syrian refugee children. He enjoyed the feeling of giving back so much so that he started attaching notes to the gifts that said: “Good luck with your future.”
It was small, but the memory made its mark. Mubarik, a freshman in electrical engineering, now volunteers and takes photos at every event the Bennion Center hosts. Mubarik, who hails from Pakistan, is one of several international students who decided service would help them be a part of the community at the U.
“At first I had a feeling of fear that something may happen like I won’t communicate properly or I will do something wrong, but as I got more and more involved, the fear is less and less,” he said.
This feeling, which Mubarik said plenty of international students have, sometimes holds them back from becoming involved with clubs and organizations at the U. Huy Doan, a junior in biology from Vietnam, said he faces this challenge constantly while he tries to recruit international students for the first year service corps, which aims to get freshmen involved in volunteer work.
Doan, now student director of the service corps, was involved in the group during his first semester at the U. Of the 50 members of the group this year, five are international students from India, Vietnam and China. In order to spark interest, Doan tells students his personal story of how service changed him.
“I was so introverted. I was quiet my freshman year,” Doan said. “Now, I know how to get to know people.”
Volunteering also helped Doan solidify his decision for a career. Last year, he went on an “Alternative Spring Break” trip, where students travel with the Bennion Center for a week in March to volunteer in various locations across the country. Doan went to Hollywood to serve HIV patients. Now, he wants to be a doctor so he can help people like them.
Besides improving their English, international students can learn valuable skills, connect with people and make friends, Doan said. But international students also have their own unique way to contribute.
“I think I come from a different perspective. The way I think and the way I do things is different from other people,” he said.
Mubarik participated in service projects in Pakistan as well, so he brings in his knowledge of how service is done there. He feels happier and has more energy when he takes a break from his studies to contribute to the community he is currently a part of.
“With volunteering, you don’t get money,” he said. “The thing you get is gratefulness, and you inspire other people’s hearts so they are more kind and generous.”
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