Reflections

I am grateful to the PAHS students and faculty who have opened their school and their hearts to us over the past few weeks. I have been inspired by their hospitality and their kind spirits. Each day, I get to know at least one student just a little bit better, and my gratitude grows. Though we UBC students came with the hopes of tutoring PAHS students in the cardiology we had learned the year before, it is clearly we who are learning from them.

A few years my junior, the students are many years advanced in wisdom and spirit. They are incredibly generous, insightful, and certainly hard-working. It is this spirit, combined with their work ethic, which leaves me learning from them; they are great role models who demonstrate this impeccable work ethic but also the most positive of attitudes towards their work. Each day I observe their keen interest and enthusiasm towards school and their coursework.

When a faculty member is lecturing, it is evident that the students appreciate each moment that the professor is sharing with them. The students focus, attend, and hang on every word, showing that the professors are the most important person in the room. The students know that the professors are a wealth of knowledge to be attended to, and to be respected. They are grateful to be learning, and eager to be doing great work for the people of Nepal. The students are sponges, soaking in every last bit of information shared. I want to bring this enthusiasm, work ethic, and ultimately this spirit, all the way back home with me.