Three weeks went by in the blink of an eye. When starting ACE in Place South Africa, I felt I knew little about my program, the people on my team, or our objective as a group even after our two pre-program meetings. Fortunately, I can proudly say that things have drastically changed since the beginning of our project. Given time to reflect, I now admire the tremendous progress that my team made with each other as well as with our partner Ocean Pledge to actively engage in service-learning and create positive change.
We began ACE in Place South Africa while zooming from entirely different corners of the globe–Germany, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Pennsylvania. These are just a few of my team members’ home bases. Immediately, everyone realized the incredible diversity in perspectives among our team, which was one of our strongest assets. As we progressed through our first few sessions of ice breakers and project briefs, our team grew closer together and began to enjoy each other’s company.
Our goal was simple, but we could achieve it through a plethora of unique avenues. We needed to help Ocean Pledge successfully launch their “Voices of the Oceans Ambassador Program”and advance their greater mission of eliminating marine plastic waste. The scope of our task was broad, but together we collaborated effectively and brainstormed with Ocean Pledge’s founder, Diony Lalieu, to develop a plan for launching the Ambassador Program.
“Immediately, everyone realized the incredible diversity in perspectives among our team, which was one of our strongest assets.”
– John Peters, Duke Men’s Golf
While our work was a great success for Ocean Pledge as a whole, throughout the program I learned that ACE is so much more than merely working towards a deliverable; it is a journey to gain insight into different cultures and form connections with other communities. Through discussions on South African politics, languages, cooking classes, and even informal gripes about “load-shedding” (currently many South Africans experience periods of the day where they have reduced or no access to electricity), my perspective expanded greatly.
Thanks to Minenhle Msane, a South African citizen who willingly attended every session along with our GVI staff, many of my previous misconceptions about South Africa and the continent of Africa were dispelled. Now I appreciate first-hand education far greater than a typical classroom setting; being immersed into different cultures is remarkably enlightening.
“…throughout the program I learned that ACE is so much more than merely working towards a deliverable; it is a journey to gain insight into different cultures and form connections with other communities.”
– John Peters, Duke Men’s Golf
ACE in Place provided a variety of unique knowledge, lessons, and opportunities within a three-week span that are extremely difficult to replicate. I am so grateful to participate in this great environment and be able to help nonprofits like Ocean Pledge while simultaneously growing my knowledge of the world around me. My team, all of our supporting volunteers, and the staff of both Ocean Pledge and GVI worked diligently to make this program fruitful in so many different ways. Through ACE in Place South Africa, I’ve gained invaluable experience that will positively impact my future.