By Vijay Kumar, Community College Initiative Program.
How beautiful is the thought of visualizing your dream in your mind, creating its sub-conscious reality with unknown images of a different world; the excitement and joy of being in a different place, meeting with different people; where people who see things differently than you; people who look and sound different than you; but also, somewhere down the line, they share the same values of love, diversity, freedom, and friendship. For me, that is how the last ten months of my life were as an exchange student on the Community College Initiative Program (CCIP) in the United States.
Travelling to the United States:
There is no doubt that the experiences I gathered during my exchange studies have shaped me into a different person than I was before. As soon as I started adjusting to U.S. culture, I saw myself becoming more open to differing beliefs, ideas, and thoughts. I took on the role of a cultural ambassador for Pakistan. I fell even more in love with my homeland when I used to tell Americans about the beauty of my country, its culture and most importantly, the people. I also got an opportunity to travel to the Washington D.C. with all of my other CCI fellows across the United States to learn about the political history of the United States and to visit some important places and memorials.
Vijay performing at the Edmond’s Community College International Night
Sharing Music:
From the very start of my exchange program, I found myself involved in a variety of activities, from music to entrepreneurship to attending conferences on leadership and diversity. I also started giving musical performances, something I had previously avoided. It all started with a small karaoke session in the community room of my dormitory and led me to University of Washington’s Cultural Fest, Edmonds Community College’s International Night event and many other places to share my culture through the universal language of music. This gave me the enormous confidence to stand in front of many people and to continue following this hobby in Pakistan and keep sharing my message to the world.
Learning About Start-ups & Entrepreneurship:
One of the most action-driven experiences I had was to attend EuroWeek Seattle Start-up Weekend 2016 in Seattle, where my friends and I pitched my idea of an app related to grocery stores. I had not given a sales pitch before, but when I observed people going to the stage and presenting their ideas one by one, I thought if they could do it, I can do it too! I took no time to get up and pick up the paper, create a dummy name for an app, and go up to the stage to pitch my idea. This three-day event took us to different grocery stores in Seattle and Lynnwood area to get customers’ opinions on our app for the final presentation. Although we didn’t win, I learned a lot from the experience. Teamwork, effectively pitching your idea to possible stakeholders, and working on sustainable ideas were all new to me. I was inspired by the ideas presented at the conference, something that has also added to my understanding of innovation and technology for entrepreneurs.
Teamwork in action
Punctuality and Professionalism:
A key takeaway for me during my exchange year was the punctuality and professionalism I observed. I was in awe of how Americans schedule, plan, manage time and communicate. I had been the kind of person who always has too much going on, but learning from my American counterparts, I was able to slot activities in my calendar in a way that let me gain the most out of my 10-month stay. I properly planned and organized my days, weeks and months. Because of all this, I got to meet a lot of people around the world from different cultures and who spoke different languages. The diversity was inspiring!
Volunteerism:
In the U.S., I learned about the spirit of volunteerism in its true essence. People did not shy away to spare aside some time from their busy schedules and do some work for their communities. I, too, got involved in a variety of volunteering activities. This, alone, took me to many different places across Seattle area equipping me with new skills set and ideas. From planting new trees in the community to feeding people in poverty, it allowed me to see a different side of the United States which still needs some sincere attention from the government. Reflecting on this in my own community, I realized many issues in my community could be solved just by volunteering. This also empowered me to inspire a culture of volunteering, to take up the responsibility for our own issues and work together to curb them.
Moving Forward:
The power of a dream – my exchange – has helped me to focus my own thought process. I am looking forward to continuing to involve myself in social activism and raising my voice against problems my country faces, especially in the areas of education. I will also continue to initiate projects on education and music. Moreover, I am planning to bring the awareness of recycling to the people in my community. My goal is to make people in my area aware of climate change issues we face and how they can individuals play a role by doing a few little things in their daily lives.
