Summer 2022 Internship

During my third year at Agnes Scott College, I received an Advantage Award, funding for hands-on summer internships for undergraduate students to apply their academic learnings to career opportunities. Through the Advantage Award Program, I completed 320 hours of volunteer student teaching experience in Malaysia at a learning center, Chin Refugee Committee School (CRCS). I choose Malaysia because many of my minorities from Myanmar including my ethnic group, Zomi, had fled to Malaysia to seek asylum due to persecution, discrimination, and ongoing civil war. In Malaysia, refugee and asylum-seeking children are denied access to the formal education system. Thus, they can only obtain education through informal community-based learning centers recognized by UNHCR. I have had the chance to resettle in the United States, this experience has inspired me to give back to my community by applying for the Advantage Award.

I taught English, Science, and Math to first-grade students while conducting informative workshops about the importance of mental health and wellbeing. However, the main focus was on learning to read and understand English. There have been many challenges, growth areas, and so much that I have learned. First and foremost, the biggest challenge I had was explaining certain concepts or words to the students due to the language barrier and different customs/cultures. I was able to combat this challenge by having my supervisor translate things to the students and using visual formats such as images, videos, and infographics. Another challenge was finding the learning styles that accommodated most students as I witnessed the disparities in students’ learning paces. Finally, classroom management was something that I learned from this experience and have created a better learning environment for students. I implemented techniques for students to become independent learners by having them take turns reading out loud, going up to the board to show how they got their answers, and having a one-on-one discussion about their writing. One thing I could have done better was to set classroom rules and expectations at the beginning so it factored into the low attentiveness and disruption. At the same time, these challenges have taught me to be patient and open-minded and factor into building a better relationship with the students.

Ultimately, I was able to learn to improve my communication and teamwork skills as I work with people from different backgrounds and experiences. Through my series of health-related informative workshops, I was able to apply the knowledge I’ve learned from my courses as well as my leadership skills to my internship. It was also a new experience for the students and made a lot of them very curious. I could have done a much better job in some areas such as time management, setting boundaries, etc. to create a better effective learning environment and techniques. Overall, this internship has been an eye-opening experience and rewarding experience as I was able to give back to my community. I valued every minute of my time with my students and I have nothing but love for them and they taught me so much!