Volunteering To Transition Into A New Culture

As an international student and a third year psychology major at SFU, Rainy Yumeng Jiang has found her passion in community engagement through volunteering in the past three years.

Some of Rainy's volunteer experience includes: Unit Guider with the Girl Guides of Canada; Ambassador of Tanning Is Out – a summer program of Canadian Cancer Society that aims to raise the awareness of Sun safety; General volunteer for Vancouver International Film Festival. She is now an Assistant Event Coordinator at Canadian Cancer Society.

When asked the reason that drives her to volunteer, Rainy said: "Through volunteering in various communities, I get the chance to better understand the culture and the people in Canada. Volunteering surely has helped me adjust to a new lifestyle, one that is totally different from where I come from." Engaging in a variety of volunteer work has helped Rainy's transition to unfamiliar experiences, allowing her to overcome culture shock; helping her adjust to the new academic, cultural, and social experiences.  Upon her first arrival into Canada, Rainy recalled herself as being anxious, insecure while curious about the new life that she was about to encounter.  After three years, she has now grown into a much more independent, encouraging person that is no longer afraid of challenges out there and continues her journey to explore the Canadian society.

Being actively involved in communities also has made Rainy see the world differently. "I never thought there truly are people living in such extreme conditions like downtown eastside before volunteering.” In her current role with the Canadian Cancer Society, Rainy now sees volunteering as a way to give back to society and help those in need.