With the intent to connect with their heritage and immerse themselves in Taiwanese culture, seniors Vanessa Chen, Joanna Harris and Dylan Lu-Sheehan spent three weeks in Taiwan in July attending the Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) volunteer program. Between living with host families and teaching in different classrooms around the country, the program’s volunteers aimed to teach English to Mandarin-speaking youth.
OCAC hosts an annual volunteer program for English speakers between the ages of 17 to 25, giving participants the opportunity to teach students in many cities across Taiwan. The program appealed to Harris because of her personal connection with the program’s goals.
“I applied to this program because I am half Taiwanese, so I thought that it would be a really good opportunity for me to connect with my heritage, but also have an opportunity to share (that) I come from America,” Harris said. “I liked to share the English language with younger children and I love interacting with kids. It (OCAC) also gave me an experience to meet other high schoolers from around the world and the country.”
The program consisted of about 400 young adults globally who were selected for the month-long endeavor. To begin, participants completed a week of training at Asia University near Taichung, where they planned lessons and interacted with students. The program placed Harris at a school in the Taichung area, while Lu-Sheehan spent two weeks teaching English at Dacun Elementary School before traveling through northern Taiwan during the final week. Lu-Sheehan enjoyed visiting parts of Taiwan that most tourists do not visit.
“My favorite memory from the trip was after having the time to already make friends during the final week where we had some time to explore, me and a couple others went off and found a small café. It was really tiny but really cool, having the opportunity to explore Taiwan and finding this small café that isn’t meant for tourists was amazing,” Lu-Sheehan wrote in a message.
After a month abroad, the three seniors returned with memories that defined their experiences. Harris especially valued the friendships, connections and learning she experienced during her time in Taiwan.
“We learned how to create lesson plans to engage the students and teach them English words through interactive activities,” Harris said. “My favorite part of the program was building relationships and getting to know the younger generation, meeting other high schoolers and being really immersed in Taiwanese culture.”
Lauren Pinheiro can be reached at [email protected].
