The Memorial Student Center doesn’t just create on-campus experiences for students, but also experiences outside of campus AND outside of the country! MSC Freshmen Leadership International (MSC FLI) is a Freshman Leadership Organization dedicated to promoting cultural understanding and international awareness among the population at Texas A&M. Every year MSC FLI takes a group of freshmen on their Costa Rica Service Learning Program during spring break, which allows Aggies to participate in service projects throughout the small community of San Isidro. This trip is open to not only the students of MSC FLI, but other freshmen too.
This year MSC FLI took 21 freshmen to Costa Rica. Over the course of this trip they stayed at the Texas A&M Soltis Center, located in a rainforest on the northern part of the Caribbean side of the island, where they engaged with the local community, participated in service projects, and explored Costa Rica. “Last year we were pouring concrete. This year we were moving trees. It really just depends on what the community needs,” outgoing Chair of MSC FLI, Layton Meyer said.”Whatever task, big or small we do.” While In Costa Rica the students were also tasked with teaching a lesson at the elementary school. The topic is assigned by the principal and the curriculum group then puts together some lesson plans, slides, and activities matching the requested theme. Teaching this lesson gives the students on the trip an opportunity to engage with the students at the school and build their professional skills.
MSC FLI’s advisor Valerie Wilson said, “The best thing about this trip is that it really brings a unique type of student who wants to spend their spring break doing service, and wants to do so somewhere they are not super comfortable. They are willing to go outside of their normal life for the trip. I, as the advisor, really enjoy getting to see these students develop and grow over the short time that they were there and I can see that it really has an impact on their lives.” Students on this trip participate in reflections where they went over what service means to them and later on how the experience impacted them. Layton commented on how these reflections showed how much the trip had shifted their perspective. “The first couple of nights there wasn’t much discussion. The last reflection we had was night and day, just how much people had to say on how much the experience meant to them and how much they had learned from doing service in such a different place and being so immersed in such a different environment, because by that point they had gotten over the initial discomfort and uneasiness and realized they were doing something great.”
Gabi Ganser, a genetics major and a member of Fish Council, attended the 2023 trip because she loves new adventures and serving others. Her favorite part of the trip was visiting a nearby school and assisting a teacher in educating students about washing hands and staying healthy. This project allowed Gabi to practice her Spanish skills and see her work make a difference in people’s lives.
The Costa Rica service-learning trip also integrates sight-seeing throughout the trip, so students can enrich their cultural perspectives and have some fun on their week off of classes. Gabi said her favorite sight-seeing activity was hiking up the forest next to the Soltis Center, where they saw exotic animals and a beautiful waterfall. “My perspective was transformed from this trip in many ways and I learned a lot about myself. From this trip, I realized that no matter how big or small, all acts of service end up with a positive result, and they leave both the served and the servant in a better place than before,” she said.
MSC FLI hosts several other programs throughout the year, such as Cooking Around the World and F.I.L.M., Festival of Internationally Loved Movies. MSC FLI has been changing lives since 2009, and it hopes to continue developing global leaders in years to come.