Wow. Almost over already. Though this semester has not gone ANYTHING like I had anticipated, it has still provided me with some of the most beneficial experiences that I have been able to learn and grow from. This has been especially true in the case of this Global Service-Learning Course.           

As I discussed in my previous blog post, we were supposed to travel to Trinidad to visit our clients, Nature Seekers and the DORCAS Women’s Group, to conduct primary research for our project. However, when the trip was cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic, our team had to make a great pivot. Learning how to adapt to change and overcome obstacles has easily been the greatest lesson I have learned. Not only were we unable to travel to our destination, but we lost direct communication with our in-country clients for the remainder of the project because Trinidad also went into a state of lockdown and most Trinis do not have personal internet access. This made our project difficult, but not impossible. We learned how to dig further into secondary research and into the information we had already collected. In my opinion, had we not been so open to being flexible, our project would not have been as successful as it was given the circumstances. Hopefully this pandemic will be one of the craziest things I will ever have to experience, but if it is not, I feel more prepared to be able to figure out how to adapt to the circumstances at hand. Even day-to-day situations require you to be able to pivot quickly though, so this will also help with that.

The greatest transferrable skill I gained from this experience is how to manage conflict within a team. For the majority of the beginning of the project, our team worked together flawlessly. Towards the end though, conflict began to spark because of dissenting opinions and communication errors. The main issue at hand that was being debated was whether we should have four or eight people presenting our final presentation. Those with strong voices came to the forefront, whereas those who were quieter did not speak up because they did not feel as though they would be heard. From my prior experience in this class, I knew that it was important to give everyone a chance to voice their opinions, so this is what I aimed to do. After everyone had spoken, it was clear there was still great difference in opinion, so I suggested a compromise to have six people speak. Proposing a compromise is definitely something I will try to use in future settings in which conflict arises because it proved to be effective. Even through this conflict though, we still managed to overcome so many of the challenges that were detailed in the paper “Top Project Team Challenges” that we discussed in class. These obstacles that we overcame included undefined goals as we came into the project feeling unsure what we were supposed to do this year and scope changes each time we got one of our drafts back and it was covered in red ink. I’m so proud of everything that our team was able to accomplish even in the face of adversity.

While maintaining good relationships within your team is important, it is equally important to maintain a good relationship with your client to ensure trust on both sides. The dynamic our team had with our clients this year was definitely interesting. Pitt Business has an established relationship with DORCAS Women’s Group because of their 10-year commitment to helping them. This was going to be an asset to us in country because while we would still have to establish a personal level of trust since we were a new group, there was already an existing level of trust so they would feel more comfortable with sharing information with us. However, with the removal of the travel aspect, we made the difficult decision to remove DORCAS from our deliverables. Looking to the future, it is difficult to say how this will affect the relationship between Pitt Business and DORCAS. This year, we were also transitioning focus from DORCAS to Nature Seekers, so our relationship with Nature Seekers was still young and budding when we began. Last year’s GSL Trinidad group had visited Nature Seekers briefly during their time in country so there was a slight advantage to us going into the project because of that. When we contacted Nature Seekers via video call or email, they were open to sharing information with us. Since the relationship was still so new, our time in country was going to be a time to really focus on developing an even stronger relationship and trust. With this aspect removed, I think we made the best of a bad situation by still continuing on with the parts of the project we were able to. This will hopefully demonstrate to Nature Seekers that Pitt Business GSL groups are dedicated to this work.

When trying to make light of all of the bad things that have happened this semester, I keep thinking to myself, “at least I will always have an experience to discuss in a job interview now.” Today I was able to make that a reality for the first time. I had a job interview in which I was asked to describe a time in which something went awry and how I reacted. My response was simple: This semester I participated in a program called Global Service Learning. We were slated to travel to Trinidad to meet with our in-country clients to conduct primary research for a marketing plan we were creating for them. However, the COVID-19 pandemic forced study abroad cancellations, so we were unable to travel, and then on top of that, we also ended up losing contact with our client when all of Trinidad went into a lockdown state. Initially when all of this happened, I panicked and got upset. I felt hopeless as I didn’t see how this project would be possible at that point. I quickly realized though, that my team was depending on me to rally and stay strong. I decided to continue with the project and began to brainstorm ways in which we could make this work so that I would be able to provide some hope and ideas for myself, as well as teammates. This entire experience taught me how to remain calm in the face of adversity to ensure the best possible outcome.

I can only hope that things go smoother for next year’s group, but the reality is that you should always expect the unexpected. The first piece of advice I would give them is to always make light of a bad situation. As I’ve explained throughout this blog post, even through all of the obstacles we faced, I was still able to find the positives which helped me, in turn, to also stay positive. Furthermore, I would tell participants to really focus on improving their transferrable skills. This class provides an excellent opportunity to greatly improve your leadership, teamwork, communication, and other. skills. Take advantage of this. Don’t just sit on the sidelines during group discussions. Remain active and figure out the ways in which you work best in a team. Recruiters love to hear about these transferrable skills, so make an active effort to work on them while you have the chance. My final piece of advice would be to make sure you are being cognizant of what you are learning and experiencing. Take time for personal reflection every so often. This class moves very quickly, so it is easy to get caught up in all of the deliverables and meetings. However, it’s important to stop every once in a while, and realize how much you are growing from this experience. It is one of a kind and one that very few people are lucky enough to experience.  

Looking back to the day we found out that the travel aspect of our project was cancelled, I never would have predicted the series of events to follow. I have a vivid memory of going to the study abroad office that day and having Meade tell me how unpredictable life is. Knowing what I know now, oh boy was she right. I don’t know what the future holds, but one thing is for sure: GSL has been an experience that has shaped me for the better. I’m eternally grateful for everything this experience has taught me and the friends I’ve gained along the way.

Here’s to the next adventure!

So long GSL