opening doors to the world… the lausanne way!

As you travel the world, continuelearning but make sure you teach aswell. Share your culture with thecommunity and your actions will helpresolve the misperceptions differentsocieties have of one another.Lausanne Grad Drawn to South African Mission & Research Work:Don’t Just Learn…ShareBy Andrew Dawson, Lausanne’s 2008 valedictorian and a junior at the University of MiamiClass of 2008 valedictorian and current Universityof Miami student Andrew Dawson with children inSouth AfricaOn January 3, 2011, I had theopportunity to return to Lausanne toshare my recent summer internship inSouth Africa with the Upper Schooland 2005–2010 alumni. There werethree things I wanted the students toget out of my talk with them. First wassomething we learned from one anotherat Lausanne and that was to broadenour perspectives. Although I am anapplied physics and accounting major, itwas a geography professor that inspiredme to apply for a grant to work with theAmy Biehl Foundation in Cape Townlast summer.The second point I wanted to sink inwas not to be afraid of failure. This wassomething I noticed in my work in thefreshman dormitories at college; thefreshmen who were afraid to takechances and leave their comfort zoneshad trouble succeeding. If I had beenafraid to fail, I never would have beenable to travel to South Africa. I wasturned down several times beforereceiving the research grant that enabledme to go there.For the research grant from theUniversity of Miami, which funded mytravel and living expenses, I studied howinternational volunteers affect the peoplethey “help” during their mission workand what the volunteers and localpopulation learn from one another. Inaddition to my research, I also raisedfunds to organize and run a World Cupsimulation for over 150 children.Seeing the kids get to playorganized sports and developteam skills working in groupswas the highlight of my trip. Theschools are underfunded, so thefoundation funds creative skillsand sports that they don’t getin school.During the World Cup simulation,children were provided breakfast andlunch each day, as well as uniforms andawards. The portable goals and otherequipment ordered for the gamesremained with the children so theycould enjoy a better year-round soccerprogram in their schools. Although thetournament proved a positive experiencefor those involved, I was surprised bysome of the information I obtainedthrough interviews and observations formy research.International service learning groupscome to the townships to supplementtheir studies in the classroom. Becausethey are volunteering, many of thegroups automatically assume that thework they are doing will have a positiveimpact on the community. However,many of their actions, unbeknownst tothe volunteers, have a negative effect.For instance, most of the volunteergroups naturally took pictures of thechildren in the school, the school itselfand the surrounding community. In aninterview with a 15-year-old schoolboy, Iasked him how this made him feel andhe told me that he did not understandwhy all white people thought he and hisfriends were like “zoo animals.”Many of the younger children lovegetting their pictures taken and loveseeing the digital images of the pictures,but as the children get older, those typesof requests actually send a negativemessage that volunteers unintentionallyreinforce.Although my research may haveseemed to discourage internationalinvolvement in volunteer work, itbrought me to my third point. Iencouraged students to continuetraveling abroad for research andvolunteerism, but emphasized that theyput more thought into what theirpresence means for those whom theyvisit, thinking about the ways theiractions will be perceived and the waysthey can have a more positive impact.As you travel the world, continuelearning, but make sure you teach aswell. Share your culture with thecommunity and your actions will helpresolve the misperceptions differentsocieties have of one another.18 L A U S A N N E s p r i n g 2 0 1 1 w w w . l a u s a n n e s c h o o l . c o m 19