The beauty that lies in diversity and a desire to make the world a better place is reflected in the humanitarian projects and cultural activities organized by PTPI Chapters all over the world. PTPI’s Seoul, Korea (Cheongshim International Academy) Student Chapter developed a unique way to travel all over the world, both figuratively and literally. Chapter Vice President Jeewon Sa tells us how:
Members of PTPI's Seoul, Korea (CSIA) Student Chapter
1. First, share a bit about the background of your Student Chapter.
Our chapter initially started in 2007 as a history study group with five founding members. They met regularly, read textbooks and other relevant material, and presented to each other what each had studied on the diverse themes that they had chosen, such as politics, society, law, culture, and science and technology. As a result of their cumulative knowledge of historical details and facts, they published the very first volume of the history journal.
1. Share a bit about your chapter and how it began.
In 2010, we officially became a PTPI Student Chapter. We have grown to become a large student group that consists of 17 ambitious middle and high school students. Now, the annual publishing of the history journals is one of our main chapter activities. In addition, as one of our community service projects, we plan to volunteer to teach world history at local educational institutions, using our published journals.
2. Tell us more about the history journals and other activities your chapter participates in.
Every year, we publish a history journal and as of 2011, we’ve published a total of four volumes. Each volume is written about a different theme: ancient civilizations, medieval times, modern era. We also engage in fundraising events at our school. During this year’s school festival, we sold badges and small cushions with our chapter logo on them. Another thing we do, in order to learn more, is go on field trips to historical sites.
In July, we were given the opportunity to showcase our chapter’s activities at the 2011 Global Youth Extracurricular Activities Expo. We enthusiastically promoted our two main projects: publishing and fundraising. We also provided an opportunity for people who are not a part of our chapter to write for our history journal, so many people were interested and registered to participate.
3. What is the best part about being a part of the chapter?
I am really proud to be a member and vice president of such an active and promising chapter. We work hard to learn about history and inform others about not only the knowledge that can be obtained from textbooks, but from different viewpoints on the same issue. Responsible members and truly helpful adult advisors have gathered together to work successfully, fulfilling tasks one by one, pursuing our goals.
4. What is one accomplishment your chapter is particularly proud of?
In 2010 we went to Italy on a field trip to learn more about the Italian Renaissance. We felt that directly experiencing the historical sites would be very helpful to our journal writing. The journey we took was two thumbs up! Not only did we thoroughly gain historical knowledge by touring the cities of Milano, Verona, Florence, Bologna, Cinque Terra, Siena, Pisa, Vatican City and Rome, we also experienced the fascinating Italian culture and ate fabulous Italian cuisine. In other words, we successfully practiced the cliche: When in Rome, do as the Romans do. We were all very proud of ourselves after we toured the cities because we did not follow a tour guide but managed to refer to maps and signposts. Italy is one of our chapter’s most unforgettable memories.
5. How do you keep chapter members inspired and motivated?
The activities we do make everyone in our chapter feel inspired and motivated. We are proud of ourselves after writing the essays and publishing them into real paperback journals. Thus, we are motivated to write better and more informative essays for the next journal.
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Tags: Student Chapters