One year of interacting with Danes and international students from all over the world in Snoghøj has shown me the complexity of working in a multicultural environment. Simultaneously, this year has taught me how to create a more comfortable environment where everyone strives to open up and express their personalities through various art forms. As a volunteer at the school, my main task was to provide social media content, while I also took it upon myself to observe classes, teaching approaches, and communication between students and teachers to understand the teaching processes. Being someone who observed and lived with the students, I started implementing small projects to help the students to capture their projects through photos and videos that they can use as portfolios and applications in the future.
Despite the school's specialization in musical and performance art, all the students, including those who seemed certain about their futures, used this time not only to focus on the theatrical aspects but also to figure out what they wanted to be and do by trying different activities.
It was easier to assist the students who had already started pursuing their dreams. It only took setting up a stage, arranging the lighting, and allocating some time, and they were ready to be captured by the camera and share their art with the world, be it through dancing, singing, or composing. With one of the students, we recorded a video of her original composition. Today, she is recording her songs with talented singers in their own studio. (Unfortunately, I cannot provide you with the video due to copyright)
I have also worked with other students, helping them to gather materials for their portfolios, applications and auditions.
The most challenging part was working with students who were still figuring out their artistic pursuits or whose art couldn't be easily captured using the techniques I possessed. For example, there were students passionate about writing or struggling to memorise their lines for upcoming shows. Drawing on my academic background, I shared my knowledge and approaches acquired in educational tools and tutoring fields to help them improve and overcome obstacles, such as structuring essays, scripts, or motivational letters. Floor was one such student who, after Snoghøj, got inspired by the idea of volunteering and applied for a few ESC projects. She has already completed one in France, which involved assisting with the FIFE film festival in Montpellier. Her responsibilities included animating (e.g., rabbits) and capturing photos/filming for the shows. Currently, she is participating in another project called Mosaik in Leipzig, Germany. In this project, she collaborates creatively with autistic youth from Leipzig and accompanies them on outings. I'm glad I had the opportunity to assist her on that journey.
I believe one of the multiple aspects of education that I find difficult is to guide students towards their goals by giving them, as we-teachers assume from our experience and observations, the right tools they can apply equally to their future education and life in general. And the main goal of the tools is to succeed not only professionally but also as human beings who live in such a diverse world. I believe I succeeded in achieving and sharing that main one with the students - to be open-minded and show love towards each other, regardless of our cultural, linguistic, religious backgrounds.
ESC Solidarity Projects 