Community Engagement

Keep It Real

Tutor to the Somali Bantu Refugee Community (2014-2018)

During my freshman year of college I joined a student run tutoring organization called Keep It Real. This club works with students in the Somali Bantu Refugee Community in Pittsburgh. Since then, I’ve visited the homes of community members once  a week to work with students of all ages on schoolwork as well as to be a good academic role model for them. Over the four years I’ve had the privilege of getting to know several different families in the community. Each family has been so warm in welcoming me into their home for a few hours each week. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know them and their stories of coming to America. I’ve had the privilege of helping upperclassmen in high school navigate the college admission process and decide upon a suitable major.

In the fall of 2017 I joined the executive board of Keep It Real as a co-chair of special events coordination. It was my job to organize after school excursions for the families in the community. Several of the events which we had included visits to local museums as well as fall festivals. Joining the executive board has strengthened my connection to the community and affirmed my commitment to immigrant and refugee issues. I know that in years to come I will reflect fondly upon my involvement in this club as part of the highlights in my college career.

International Volunteer Experiences  

Of all the international experiences I have had the privilege of having, volunteering abroad has been the most rewarding.

In 2015 I volunteered with Global Brigades in Honduras. This service trip focused on public health issues. As a team of Pitt students, we installed more efficient and hygienic appliances in the homes of local families in rural Honduras. I thoroughly enjoyed this experience for the opportunity to work side by side with locals. The family’s house who we worked on was a part of the construction in addition to local craftsman. One day during the week long brigade was dedicated to education. Our team visited a school in the community to teach them about public health and what they can do to stay healthy and safe.

During my semester abroad in Buenos Aires I also had the opportunity to volunteer. While I was in country there had been flooding in the southern regions. Therefore, many local NGOs were dedicating themselves to packing supplies and goods to the regions where they had lost their belongings. I took it upon myself to visit this one NGO called, Fundacion Si a few times a week to help them pack and sort food. This was tough, manual labor that wore me out. I was tasked with hauling water and lifting heavy boxes. Other times I would sort donated clothing by size and gender to send to victims of the floods. Although this experience was not interactive with the recipients of this service, it was still highly enjoyable and rewarding for me. I got to talking with locals who were also volunteering. It deepened my understanding of the country, their issues, and society in general. Furthermore, being the only English speaker, I was pushed to utilize and improve my Spanish speaking abilities.