Just a few months ago, I was sitting in my BUS20 business orientation class when an opportunity of a lifetime came knocking on my door. Well, more accurately speaking, Bryan Schultz, one of the global faculty, knocked at the classroom door carrying a presentation that rocked my world.

Before I explain my program, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Leanne De Silva, and I am a sophomore at the University of Pittsburgh majoring in Psychology and Human Resources Management. I knew early on that I loved psychology for its abundant applications and its incredible insights into how people function and interact with one another. Last summer, I decided to narrow my focus to psychology in the workplace. One of my passions is helping employees – and my peers – feel supported, included, and capable of their highest potential which inspired me to transfer into the College of Business Administration and add my second major. It also gave me a spark to research consulting and interpersonal jobs rather than a typical desk job.

In addition to my rigorous coursework, I am involved in the University of Pittsburgh Varsity Marching Band. I found it to be a great vehicle to get involved in school spirit and traditions, give back to a passionate community, and make close friendships from the onset of college. Within the marching band, I am the President of the Varsity Marching Band Council and member of the Bettering the Band Committee which promotes bonding and mental health within the 300-member band. I was also in the Communications Committee last year where I was able to cultivate my marketing and graphic design skills. Furthermore, I was able to join the band’s Music and Service Fraternity, Kappa Kappa Psi, which focuses on recruitment to the University band programs and music leadership.

Aside from my commitment to music, I am also a member of Women in Business and Spanish Club. I love organizations like these that challenge me to get out of my comfort zone and network, professionally develop, and practice my communication skills.

I am originally from a little north of Columbus, Ohio in the “Lewis Center Bubble.” It is a lively town with 4 major high schools only 10 miles away from one another, each with an average graduating class of 400 students. I have always loved the volume of students for its diversity of perspectives, thoughts, and experiences. My first job teaching Taekwondo to kids and adults exemplified this as I worked with families from various backgrounds and learned a lot about Korean culture. I was even drawn to volunteering in the gifted and learning challenge programs to support these students in and out of the classroom.

These exposures, in combination with my family’s values of knowledge acquisition and travel, motivates me to study abroad. When the study abroad programs were presented in class, I had already applied to this program: Global Service Learning in Bolivia. Originally, all I knew was that it connects Pitt Business students to a non-profit organization in Cochabamba, Bolivia. The specific non-profit I will be working with is CEOLI, an organization committed to providing services to children (and some adults) with disabilities and learning challenges. I was enthralled by this as I almost enrolled in Pitt’s education program to work with a similar group, so I was ecstatic for a way to not only give back, but also create value. 

This brings me to perhaps the greatest difference between service learning and community service. Service learning is based on the principle of intentionality. It is rooted in long-term goals and lifelong habits whereas community service ends with a task completed. Oftentimes, community service volunteers are temporary and their work is passed along rather than driven forward which service learning (and consulting) strives to change. Thus, I am not merely creating deliverables, but I am taking various opportunities to create a segment of value that both persists beyond me and is a foundation for the future students of the program.

Additionally, service learning uses learning by doing to bridge the gap between passive classroom instruction and active experiential learning. In this way, it champions civic engagement and critical thinking by pushing students to refine their perspectives. In fact, on critical thinking, positive affect, communication, and career clarity measures, service learning students score higher than community service students.

Moreover, this allows me to narrow down the company environment that can sponsor my overarching goals for leaving a mark, and it greatly nurtures my oral skills. Due to this program focusing on communicating with a client, I have multiple presentation opportunities including the final presentation to our client which may also test my Spanish speaking skills in both informal and formal contexts. Furthermore, I will be more comfortable working in a team-based environment. I work closely with a semester-long project team with a range of skills and motivations, so I can understand how my role can be leveraged in a team while still making the most of each member’s perspective.  

So, those are all great for my personal development and competitive edge in the job market, but what exactly am I doing?

My project team met with our client two weeks ago to assess what opportunities they had and how we can create a segment of success for them. I was bubbling with nervousness because it had been a few years since the last group’s work in 2020, and our Scope of Work – a written statement of project objectives and deliverables – needed immense clarity. It was also a test to communicate cross-culturally and with a translator. I had never done something like that before! We had to adapt our original thought of a marketing program into developing a focal point on communication. CEOLI’s hope is to move away from 50/50 reliance on their main sponsor towards 60/40 reliance on themselves which increases their financial independence and sustainability. My team’s goal is twofold: to capitalize on program alumni to spread CEOLI’s mission and garner trust with foreign sponsors as well as to build CEOLI’s relationship within Bolivia through helping them attend an annual Bolivian fair. 

This will help CEOLI not only fund their evening programs for Autism but alleviate pressures of sustainability so that they can move forward with new ventures. This is pivotal to the local community because in Bolivia, government services are very few and families find it difficult to pay for specialized services for their children. Education alone has been a constant struggle, so eliminating stigmas around disabilities and creating a supportive platform is priceless. 

I am truly lucky to be challenged with this. I know this will be a semester of hard work, fun, and jumping into fields that I have never been in, and I cannot wait for you to hear about my transformation process!