SERVICE LEARNING
Ensuring Meaningful Service in Times of Uncertainty Article written by NIST International School Students: Avan Fata (Class of 2021) & Rei Tangkijngamwong (Class of 2023) Supported by: Cindy Chen, Secondary Service Plus Coordinator & Robin Wilensky, CAS Coordinator COVID-19 may have brought the word to a stand still, but passionate student service leaders in the EARCOS region were motivated to act on behalf of the vulnerable. 2020 has been a year of calamity, unpredictability, and above all else, constant uncertainty. As the Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to a stand still, service groups and the communities they work with across the EARCOS region and beyond faced an unprecedented challenge. As governments issued lockdown protocols and schools went online, the collaborative operations run by student youth leaders encountered what may have been the beginnings of a crisis. However, in Bangkok, Thailand, the pandemic only served to galvanise our passionate student service leaders to act on behalf of the vulnerable and to continue their efforts to improve livelihoods, ecosystems, and lives of individuals, even during Covid-19. ServiceCo Emerges A student-service group mentor team, led by students, for students, ensuring sustainable service. At NIST International School, located in Bangkok, Thailand, student service leaders came together in February to form the backbone of their school’s service infrastructure and sustainable change management. Just a few weeks before national lockdown commenced, the merger of the Events Approval Team (EAT) and NIST Development Bank (NDB) resulted in the formation of the NIST ServiceCore Team, otherwise known as ServiceCo.
Unfortunately, our “ideal” meetings were swept aside once lockdown measures were mandated, and ServiceCo spent the first months of its existence meeting through zoom and communicating online. The service groups it was designed to assist were also having to adapt to the “new normal” of digital platforms, with many putting their planned initiatives on hold due to social distancing measures. But as Albert Einstein once said, “In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.” Undaunted by the challenges Covid-19 imposed, ServiceCo set about reconfiguring its own procedures and actions to overcome this unexpected situation. Service group proposals which would’ve once taken place in-person were now held seamlessly via video conferencing, whilst approvals for funding were communicated via email. Service-related promotional material which would’ve once been plastered on school walls were now easily accessible via social media as well as weekly NIST News articles. Eschewing the true spirit of service learning in the wake of adversity, ServiceCo rose as a mentor group; guiding established service groups to resume their planning and implementation of service initiatives, even if in a different direction or through an online medium.
This team of experienced, principled, and skilled student leaders embodied the core values of service-action at NIST: meaningful, sustainable, and impactful. These three values are perfectly encapsulated in their mission statement, entrusting them with the responsibility “to support service projects in the NIST community with their management, communication, and finance to ensure meaningful impact.” In “ideal” weekly meetings the student members and teacher supervisors of ServiceCo would review the event proposals and/or funding requests of student service groups at NIST, advising them on how best to achieve their own goals in a sustainable and meaningful way. Pictured here are Year 13 students proposing an event to ServiceCo. for feedback and approval.
22 EARCOS Triannual Journal
Two months after its establishment, Covid-19 started to directly impact our community partners. As many were financed by donations and contributions, they were more vulnerable than ever. So ServiceCo set out to support our community partners through an emergency access fund, where service groups could acquire up to 30,000 Thai Baht (~1,000 USD) to support their partners.
