For project week, me and a group of four other students planned to go to Cambodia to work with the Green Umbrella organization, as well as take part in a cycling activity from north to south Cambodia. Our first steps included communicating with the chairs of the Global Concern, to make sure we carried out the goals that they associated with the organization. This was a fairly simple process as two of my group members were co-chairs of the GC, therefore we had all the information necessary to make a successful visit to the organization. 

My job was to communicate directly with the head of the organization in Cambodia and express our interest in collaborating with them in order to develop their teaching program. I feel as though it took a lot of perseverance and diligence as I was the main point of contact between the organization and our group. Over the course of a few weeks, emails were exchanged in order to organize a detailed itinerary, discussing the daily activities we would participate in. 

As a group, one of our main concerns was to make sure that our visit to the organization would be effective. In addition to directly taking action for this cause, we also kept in mind the importance of being respectful and forming meaningful relationships with the students and volunteers at the organization. In order to do this, we carried out research and spoke to individuals who had experience with the organization and Cambodian culture in general, in order to better understand how to be self-aware during the trip.  

Although we did not get the opportunity to go on the trip, I feel as though I grew a lot as a person and developed my understanding of perspective. Not only did I challenge myself through volunteering to have a main communicative role, I also feel as though I had a personal responsibility to make realistic plans – in order to benefit both the organization and my group members. I feel as though I had to be principled throughout, and keep an open mind in situations so that I could promote a constructive environment within my group. I think that these are skills that I can carry forward through my higher education and in general when forming connections with new people. 

Overall, I feel as though the project week planning experience was influential on my group as we all experienced a new side of responsibility, and sometimes were pushed out of our comfort zone. Although I am slightly disappointed that I wasn’t able to physically go on the trip, I feel as though it was a positive learning experience.