As I wrap up my most difficult semester of college by far, I want to take a moment to reflect on one of the most meaningful experiences I’ve had in the past three years. The Global Service Learning course has been such a joy to be a part of, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to work on a project that impacts the lives of people in a place so beautiful such as Cochabamba, Bolivia.
After reflecting, I can now confidently say that I’ve learned more than I ever thought I would. This project taught me the importance of open-mindedness, the necessity of adaptability and situational awareness, and the ability to immerse yourself in the small joys surrounding you. During our class discussions on being global citizenship, service learning, and beyond, we talked about how having an open-mind can make or break any experience. Throughout my time in-country, I found myself curious and open to learning everything I could, asking questions, and trying my best to speak in Spanish. Back in Pittsburgh, this same mindset allowed me to work well with my team. There are eight of us, and we’re all very different, but I think we all came in with open minds and were able to work well together, bounce ideas off of each other, and be honest. This made my experience worthwhile, and I don’t think I would have had as much of an awesome time as I did if not.
Furthermore, we heavily emphasized the significance of transferable skills in today’s job market. I’ve learned that being a consultant requires one to build these skills early and to maintain and improve them throughout the course of one’s life. We began this project thinking we would have everything set in stone by the end date; however, as we progressed in our deliverables, we realized that that would not be possible in a matter of fourteen weeks. CEOLI, our client, wanted network connections in the United States and professional development materials. We cold-emailed many people and organizations only to be met with no response. We quickly realized that we needed to pivot and adapt our strategy with these deliverables. Also, I believe that our in-country experience forced us to be adaptable as well. AllPeopleBeHappy gave us an agenda, and I thought it was set-in-stone. That ended up not being the case, and many of the items on our schedule got shifted around. From the outfits I was going to wear for a certain activity to overall changing my expectations for the day, I had to adapt to a new schedule, and, by actively putting effort into doing this, these shifts did not stress me out all that much, and I could focus more on getting as much out of travelling to Cochabamba as possible. Another transferable skill I learned was situational awareness, and I think this one manifested itself when we were in Bolivia. Before I chose to participate in Global Service Learning, I took a Latin American Economics class. I thought I knew what to expect when in Bolivia. It turns out, though, I was completely wrong. Taking in my surroundings, the happiness of the locals, and the beauty of the city, I gained a stronger understanding of the situation for the project but also how to immerse myself in somewhere so different from what I’m used to. In addition, I practiced my Spanish skills, as limited as they are, and felt like I could really connect with the Bolivian people. Both these skills, adaptability and situational awareness, will hold a lot of importance in my professional life. As the job market changes and technical skills seem to go in and out like hot commodities, these strengths will help me transition and apply myself to whatever field I choose to go into.
I feel that on social media, travelling has become a glorified, grand activity. But, I think that takes away from the time in the country. I’ve had the opportunity to go to and study abroad in Europe before, and through that, I started to flesh out the concept of finding beauty in the small things. Obviously, climbing a great cathedral in Florence or standing on top of a mountain and overlooking Cochabamba are epic, and experiences I want to have in any place I go to. However, so is walking around on the streets and observing the local culture or sitting in that random park right by your hotel that you stumbled upon. Those small things, I feel, make travelling feel less touristy and more like I’m actually living there, even if for a short period of time. Being intentional about this in Cochabamba really helped me fully appreciate it and find joy in it and made me very sad to leave.
Something I noticed about Bolivia is how important relationships are. I’m not necessarily talking about romantic relationships; rather, it’s the friendships, family bonds, and respect people treat each other with. A unique thing about our program is that Pitt and CEOLI have a ten year partnership on this project. Consulting work with a relationship of this tenure made it easier to get advice on the project and how CEOLI operates but also increased the pressure to not mess up. I do think, though, that this worked in favor of our deliverables. Building network connections out of thin air takes a LOT of time, and we only are now starting those initial meetings with them. We know that we can continue the work we’re doing, but when the Spring 2027 semester comes, we can confidently pass on this task to the next group because of this relationship that Pitt and CEOLI have. I feel the same way about the continuity of this project. We can use previous year’s insights to help us when interacting with our client, but we bring new perspectives. Despite this being the tenth year of this partnership, I know that us at Pitt and those at CEOLI formed connections unique to our year. Our experience will live on to inform the next group, but they will also have their own identity within it. I think this helps the project because fresh perspectives are added each year which allows for creative problem solving, idea generation, and excitement for what new lessons can be learned.
I’m sad that this awesome experience is concluding, but I’m also excited for other people to be a part of this! I wish I had someone to tell me more of what to expect and a bit of advice that would help me throughout this process. For all following iterations of this project, I advise you to stay open-minded, capitalize on what you’re good at, and put a sincere effort into getting to really know your team. As stated earlier, being open-minded allowed me to make the most of my time working on this project and in-country. Whether it was interacting with the locals and children at CEOLI or brainstorming with my team, I maintained that mindset and was able to fully learn, immerse myself, and have genuinely an amazing time. In team settings, people have different strengths. We broke off and did tasks based on what we liked and were good at. For example, I’m a relatively strong writer, so I spearheaded a lot of the writing portions of this project. Doing this results in greater efficiency and more time to work on the small details that projects of this nature require. Finally, getting to know my team has been one of the best parts of this project. We’re all so different, but we got along and worked together so well. I looked forward to seeing them in class every Tuesday and Thursday and was happy to experience Cochabamba with them every day we were there! This makes every team project worthwhile and feel less like work that must get done. You’re with the same people for fourteen weeks, so you should know them!
I never imagined that I would be doing this kind of work during my undergraduate career. I am equipped with a unique, real-world international professional experience that helps me stand out from other candidates. When in future interviews, I can use this time in a plethora of ways. Whether I’m discussing instances where I worked in a team, had to pivot strategies, or strategize working with a client, I can answer different kinds of questions with full confidence in an experience applicable to many workplace settings. I will explain the schedule changes, navigating across language barriers, splitting time between working with the kids and asking the staff questions for our deliverables, and building team culture. To pitch this project to prospective students, I will use the same methods and talking points. It’s truly been one of the most rewarding parts of my collegiate curriculum, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
To conclude, I want to thank the people who made Global Service Learning: Bolivia amazing! Thank you to Bryan Schultz and Stephanie Spirk for their expertise, guidance, and advice. To CEOLI, Ron, the staff and interns, and the kids, thank you for your hospitality and for the opportunity to interact with you all! Leaving CEOLI was the hardest part of this project! I extend my gratitude to Ariel, Marión, and Ronaldo for guiding us through Bolivia, answering all of our questions, and having the best conversations. Finally, I want to thank my team: Marissa, Kayla, Varsh, Sathya, Josh, Leena, and Preston. You guys are the best, and I really loved working with you and getting to know you!