葫芦影业

A recent two-week trip to Siena, Italy, with 葫芦影业ampa鈥檚 PEACE Volunteer Center, reminded students about the power of humanity.听听

PEACE's mission听is to increase volunteerism and activism at 葫芦影业ampa through direct service, indirect service and advocacy. The organization aims to promote a passion for newly introduced social issues, advocacy and service amongst students.

This May, seven students spent part of their time volunteering with Home 4 The World, an organization within Siena Italian Studies (SIS), the nonprofit that coordinated the trip for the students. SIS assists refugees from all over the world in accessing services in Italy for those seeking asylum.听听

The students worked with refugees from Pakistan and Afghanistan, helping them get adjusted, receive documentation and settle into their new lives in Italy.听

鈥淚t鈥檚 extremely difficult ...听 all of the different things they had to sacrifice,鈥� said Aubrey Evilsizer 鈥�26, a criminology and criminal justice major. Evilsizer said the group spent the majority of their service time with the refugees, getting to know them, hearing their stories and building connections. They also spent two hours each day learning Italian and were connected with a local high school to practice speaking with local students.听听

They also participated in environmental projects, specifically with Le Mura, a volunteer organization that cleans and maintains Siena鈥檚 ancient city walls.

Sydney Roux 鈥�28, an environmental studies major, said these projects were her favorite part of the trip, and she also mentioned admiring the community garden at one of the campuses of the University of Siena, saying she might bring that idea back to the University of Tampa.听听

Evilsizer and Roux both said that they would not have gotten the same experience if they had volunteered at home.听

鈥淭he fact that I can have conversations with students who are younger than me, who are not fluent in English, but understand enough English that I can have a conversation with them鈥� It really opened my eyes to how much I should be willing to learn, and how much I would like to,鈥� said Roux, adding that being in an unfamiliar space, not knowing the language and having to adapt had an added impact on the experience.

PEACE has hosted 42 events this past academic year,听ranging from weekend service to signature service events like听Into the Streets听补苍诲听MLK Day of Service, with students听logging over听2,297 hours of service.