As a part of the International Engagement in Oaxaca, Mexico program, I completed over 30 service hours at a home for disabled and abandoned senior citizens. We primarily focused on restoration of facilities; I was a part of restoring their garden (planting, weeding, cleaning, in addition to taking out remnants of a brick wall), painting, and cleaning efforts. The difference from before we began, and our finish was extreme, and left me with an impression that the changes we made would last after our departure.

More meaningful than this tangible change was the connections I was able to make, socially. We had ample opportunity to engage with the elders, staff, and community members that were helping with our efforts. We slowly became comfortable with each other as the days wore on, and the stories I heard moved me beyond belief, the wisdom imparted on me is something I will hold onto forever. Hearing the residents express their gratitude, joke with us, smile at us, dance with us and teach us was an incredible honor that I feel grateful to have experienced.

The service also brought myself and the cohort of students together in ways I could not and would not have anticipated. As the days passed, we built a community of trust and shared care, and I am extremely proud that we were able to accomplish this in such a short period. I learned about my classmates on a deeply personal level, as we shared differing and complementary experiences about service, privilege, conceptions of citizenship, and the trials that come with navigating higher education from an underrepresented background. We cried on our last day, but that wasn’t the end of it: we meet every Thursday to study to date.

Without the support of generous scholarship donors and community members, I would not have the capacity to experience deeply transformative and culturally, personally, and academically enriching experiences such as this. Thank you so much for this opportunity.

Name: Alexie Milukhin
Status: Senior
Major: Social Relations and Policy
Hometown: Spring Arbor, Michigan
Program: International Engagement in Mexico – Oaxaca