By Anna Giesting
During sociology this year, you will be introduced to a concept known as the sociological imagination. The sociological imagination is a way of looking at the world where the viewer is aware of the structures of society that affect a person’s life chances. It makes one aware of how one’s race, gender, sexual orientation, class, age, ethnicity, geographic location, etc. will all influence the opportunities he or she will have and how he or she will be treated. While lectures are an excellent way to be introduced to concepts like this, Trek offers you the opportunity to better understand the real world implications. My time in Trek has made me better aware of my own privilege and the disparity of wealth and privilege within Vancouver and the greater Vancouver area.
My Trek placement was at Saint James Music Academy (SJMA), an after school music program located in the Downtown Eastside, set up to provide music education and a supportive community to underprivileged youth in Vancouver. I volunteered in a marimba class. Although my primary job was to help the teacher teach the kids marimba, I spent a considerable amount of time keeping track of kids and trying to convince them to play. The time I spent working with the kids made me aware of the many talents they had. I discovered that they were not so different from myself. In fact, in many regards, I could see no differences between them and the much more privileged kids I had worked with in the past. However, I know that they will probably not have access to the same opportunities with which I have grown up.
When you are surrounded by individuals with similar levels of privilege, it is easy to forget that receiving a university education is not a reality to which everyone will have access. My time at SJMA made me aware that despite similarities between my life and the lives of the kids I was working with, they faced barriers that would make it more difficult for them to reach the same level of education that I have achieved. One girl’s story of her house being broken into and a boy’s stories of being bullied and youth violence in his neighbourhood, made me aware that these kids had already faced harsher realities than I ever have. Through conversations with the staff at SJMA, I became aware of the fact that although the music was important, their actual priority was to make sure the kids were doing okay, which included getting enough to eat, having a safe place to go after school, and making sure the kids knew that people cared for them.
My time volunteering brought me into the poorest area of Vancouver. It is easy to avoid seeing the inequality in the world, even within our own community. By choosing to volunteer in the Downtown Eastside, I was able to see firsthand the effects of poverty, riding the bus with people from all walks of life, walking the streets where homeless people resided, and working with kids with shaky or unstable home-lives. I say all this not to scare people away from Trek, but to illustrate how I had a much better idea about what inequality looks like thanks to my time volunteering. Thanks to Trek, I have a much better understanding of the ideas discussed in sociology and in many of my other classes, including social justice, political science, anthropology, and geography.
In order to address the problems in the world, we must first be aware of what these problems are, something Trek helped me do. I found that Trek greatly improved my university experience, not only by enhancing my learning and making me more aware of my privilege and the world around me, but also by making me more aware of the experiential learning opportunities at UBC. By participating in Trek, I discovered that UBC offers a range of opportunities outside of the classroom, including a network of career and experience opportunities. Additionally, I felt closer to the students who also did Trek, being able to share relatable experiences with one another. My time volunteering through Trek encouraged me think to for myself, evaluating how what I learned in the classroom compared with my personal experiences outside of the classroom, a skill that I anticipate being very valuable in the future.
Picture citation:
Dawes, Andrew. “IMG_2200: Sesitshaya Marimba Ensemble.” Flickr, 29 Mar. 2012, www.flickr.com/photos/bogofoo/7595191010/in/photolist-czakF9-dc7mDD-4auqbS-czakad-i8RZjj-6WYZWf-SfriW3-ewJsw-5X5gJi-6WV1KZ-7YX8VT-rm1Bc4-6WZ1Qs-buk7je-6WZ33Q-ykVk2G-buk7kc-S7WpCZ-9hciN-6WYZ6E-R2qjBY-49Vv5T-buk7mV-aSAbbv-r4zxC5-aSAbxM-23aQx2V-Sfrjhd-Sfrjb1-Sj714T-R2qjP1-R55BKX-22CgNa1-22CgN4j-UxFUs9-RKEgHH-4ZTYAr-8XMiJt-RbE3XD-5ae33d-SfrjkE-Sj716M-SfrjmG-Sfrjjh-nCwZrW-K2ZtCU-SfriXf-SfriUQ-6qP8TU-4g2mh.