Volunteer
“How many of you who are going to be doctors, are willing to spend your days in Ghana? Technicians or engineers, how many of you are willing to work in the Foreign Service and spend your lives traveling around the world? On your willingness to do that, not merely to serve one year or two years in the service, but on your willingness to contribute part of your life to this country, I think will depend the answer whether a free society can compete. I think it can! And I think Americans are willing to contribute. But the effort must be far greater than we have ever made in the past.”
— Senator John F. Kennedy, in a speech delivered
from the steps of the Michigan Union, October 14, 1960.
Five months later President Kennedy launched
the Peace Corps.
The following information is a sample of the many organizations listed
on the Go Global Resource List.
U-M Organizations
- Honduras Medical Relief, a U-M student organization. Previous participants from Kinesiology include Katie Degesie (AT). Katie's positive experience in Honduras influenced her decision to apply for the Peace Corps before attending graduate school. She has been accepted as a Peace Corps volunteer in French speaking West Africa and will begin her two year placement in September 2007. Photos from the 2006 trip.
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Global Intercultural Experience for Undergraduates (GIEU) program for Summer 2008. Deadline: November 2007. Field sites vary every year, are led by U-M faculty and last 3-4 weeks. While abroad, students receive stipends. During the semester before and after being abroad, GIEU students participate in seminars for 1 credit each semester. First and second-year students especially encouraged to apply. See the 2007 Field Sites. Cost: $1400 program fee plus airfare. Most of program fee recovered through stipend.
Several Kinesiology students (pictured, right) traveled to Beijing, China in May with Dr. Louis Yen, Kinesiology Research Scientist. They include: Jamie Tirrell (MVS), James Nuanes (SM), Jaclyn Regan (MVS) and Kristen Evans (SM). In 2006 Melanie Grant (SM) and Haley Smith traveled to Beijing with Dr. Yen. Melanie advises future students to “Keep an open mind and try to interact as much as possible with the native people in your country because that was the best experience.” When asked how this experience might impact her career, she said “I've been able to talk about it to future employers...to get other internship opportunities.” Contact Melanie.
Another Kinesiology student, Tonye Burutolu (MVS), traveled to Ghana with Mechanical Engineering Professor Elijah Kannatey-Asibu, Jr., where she studied “Recycling Plastics as an Educational Issue in Ghana.” She recommends the GIEU program “because GIEU was concerned about the big picture of why it's important to have intercultural experiences and become inter-culturally competent, before, during, and after my overseas summer experience.” She offers this advice to prospective students: “If you're going abroad, be as open-minded as possible — if you're set on seeing specific things or thinking that things should go according to some pre-conceived plan, you will be disappointed if you're not flexible.” Contact Tonye to ask about her GIEU experience.
External Organizations
Start your search for an international volunteer experience at Idealist.org. This is a rich source of information on 16,000 organizations in 130 countries. Four of these volunteer organizations are listed below:
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Habitat for Humanity Global Village Project. Volunteer for 2 weeks during the summer at field sites around the world. Kines student Heidi Fisher (SM) will build houses in Honduras this summer as part of the Global Village Project.
Volunteer at an orphanage in Peru where a student went last summer (requires some Spanish) with Fundacion Santa Martha. No deadline. The student found this opportunity by joining a group called South American Explorers. Membership also entitled her to discounted lodging and other benefits when she traveled around Peru, Chile, Bolivia and Argentina. Global Health Service-Learning Programs -- Child Family Health International. Service learning in hospitals and clinics in 6 countries, including Mexico, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Ecuador, India and South Africa. Rolling admissions for 4 week program. International Service Learning. Service learning opportunities in Costa Rica , Nicaragua, Belize, Mexico, Panama, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. No language skills required. General program and specialized programs for health and education majors. Costs $1500-$2300 (plus airfare) for two or three week trips.
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