Stuff I discussed with Professor P.
Decided to meet up with two professors today but the first professor was quite busy so we had it rescheduled to next week. Next professor I met up with was Prof. P who has been my professor in several classes ever since I was in my first semester. He’s my favorite because he does not teach in the regular manner. He tends to discuss things, show movies or clips and assign readings. His in-class discussions are really worthwhile and life-changing, I believe.
I’m getting carried away.
So I was talking with Professor P just to pick his brain on doing NGO work after college and here were some important points that he brought up that I should carefully consider before embarking on any plan for any NGO work.
1. Self-sustainability - Make sure that you have enough money to go on for several weeks, months, or for however long you plan to do your NGO work because NGO work is mostly voluntary. Do not go there without prior knowledge of how to take care of yourself (ex. cleaning) and don’t expect the place to be a paradise where the NGO needs to take care of you. You should not be a burden, you should be a help.
2. Skills - Know what kind of skills you have that you can offer them. Whether its fixing stuff, knitting, speaking other languages, teaching, writing, clerical work, computer programming, cooking, cleaning, ANYTHING.
3. Navigating the Social Terrain - Taking your family and peers into account is very important in considering what you want to do. Many people might not agree with what you want to do and some people might look down at you for choosing this path. Taking your family’s needs into account is included as well. You have to know how well the people around you will respond and how you will respond to them also.
4. People you want to work with - Know the people that you want to work with. Although it is quite difficult to know whether the organization is harmonious or not, it is still important to have some general idea of who you would like to work with and work for in order to be able to communicate better.
4. Introspection- Before doing any of these things, make sure that you have searched deep within you for what makes you happy, what gives you joy. As long as you have that, then you can go a long way.
