Inspiring the Business Leaders of Tomorrow
Volunteer: Shana Carroll
Age: 33
From: New York, NY
Occupation: Director of Communications and Adjunct Professor at NYU Stern School of Business
CCS Program Site: San Carlos, Costa Rica and Ayacucho, Peru
Why did you want to volunteer abroad?
I had a lot of reasons for wanting to volunteer abroad. I think that volunteer work is a really important piece of life and I also think that having a really broad global view is critical, especially in today’s society. When I was 21, I went to Ecuador — my sister was living there for about a year. During that visit, I felt like I really got exposed to a developing economy, and I thought it was really important for the students to also get that exposure.
Why did you choose Cross-Cultural Solutions?
For me, I was looking from the very beginning to coordinate a group on behalf of New York University and I took that job very seriously. I looked at many organizations — some along the same lines of CCS and another that was a more traditional travel agency, and CCS ultimately rose to the top. One reason was that CCS has Home-Bases in each of the sites and staff that are typically locals from the area — so I knew we’d be doing work that mattered. I really wanted it to be about the community and not just us having an experience.
Tell us about the NYU Stern International Volunteers Program.
Both times, we were 12 total – 10 undergraduate students, myself, and one of my colleagues. The students apply to the program, there’s a written application, and then an interview, then we select the students. Now that we’ve done the program twice, students from the trips have spread the word about what a great experience it is – so there’s no lack of interest. In the six weeks before the trip, we meet as a group to discuss logistics of course, but also to read excerpts from provocative books like “The White Man’s Burden” by William Easterly and “The End to Poverty” by Jeffrey Sachs to give students better insight and understanding going into the trip.
What are some of the goals of the NYU Stern International Volunteers Program?
I think the biggest thing is a broader view of the world by taking a first-hand look at what other parts of the world look like. And the second thing is to keep that broader world-view at the forefront of your mind, so that you can bring that increasingly sensitized view to whatever you do.
What do you think about volunteering as a group?
I love doing experiences like this as a group because I think there’s so much opportunity to learn from one another — experiences, reactions, and feelings. Also, when you’re putting yourself in an environment that isn’t necessarily comfortable immediately, it helps to have other people with you because they may be comfortable in areas that you aren’t comfortable in. It just makes it easier to put yourself out there.
Describe the best moment of your trips.
I think the best moment for me was seeing one of the students from NYU have such a moment of clarity and impact from the experience. For me that was a really important moment because it made me know that the program that we created is having the outcomes that we always intended.
What types of things did you do at your volunteer placements?
We played a lot of sports, we took really small kids to the park one day, we helped feed little kids, we helped feed the elderly, and cut the nails of elderly women and massage their hands and feet. We went to the prison of Ayacucho. The women there who have children under 3 years old…their children can live with them. But on Fridays the children can leave the prison, and two of the kids who were with us that day had never been outside of the prison. It made me wonder what their life was like, did they know anything besides these prison walls? We took them to the park that day, and they were feeding the pigeons — they had a lot of fun. There was a parade that day too, so we watched a parade with them.
Who should volunteer abroad?
Everybody, every age, every demographic.
