#CapturingCommunity: Kelly Chan

By S-L Street Team Member Salil Khanna

Name: Kelly Chan

Role in Service-Learning: Service-Learning Student

College: College of Arts, Media, and Design

Major/Program of Study & Minor: Journalism major and Photojournalism minor

What Class are you a Service-Learning Student for:  Advanced Chinese 1

How are your values expressed through your community engagement and Service-Learning work?

Service-Learning has taught me to appreciate the ability to be learning a new language. When I first scheduled Chinese into my schedule, it was mainly to fulfill my language requirement. After engaging with the Service-Learning aspect, it made me want to learn it more for myself rather than just learning it for a class. I see much value in being able to speak another language, especially one that is used worldwide.

How has Service-Learning in this class affected your education relating to your major?

Although the Service-Learning I do is not related to journalism, it has shown me the importance of having good communication skills. For my Service-Learning, I act as a teacher assistant at a Chinese school, interacting with kindergartners in Chinese only. This Service-Learning has helped me step out of my comfort zone in communicating as well as teaching in a language that I am not that proficient in.

Did you find Service-Learning or did Service-Learning find you?

I would say that I had found Service-Learning. When I was registering for classes, I had the opportunity to take either Intermediate Chinese 2 or Advanced Chinese 1. One of the factors that pushed me to take Advanced Chinese 1 was definitely the Service-Learning component. I’ve volunteered for a good portion of my life, and I missed it when I came to college. Although I didn’t know how to get back into volunteering at the time, Advanced Chinese 1 presented the perfect opportunity for doing so.

If Service-Learning were a song, what would it be and why?

I think Service-Learning would probably be “Fireflies” by Owl City, because you wouldn’t expect it to light up your life as much as you would think.