CSGC
Deerfield Center for Service and Global Citizenship (CSGC) is a school department that helps students get involved in service, engage with the local and wider community, and turn their interests into meaningful projects. One of these opportunities is the CSGC Summer Grant, which provides funding for students to create and carry out their own service projects during the summer.
The two projects described below reflect my involvement in these service opportunities: TA Shanghai, in which I participated during ninth grade, and the Wetland Project, which I took part in during my tenth and eleventh grades. Through these experiences, I was able to turn my interests into hands-on service, collaborate with others, and make meaningful contributions to the community.
TA Shanghai
I grew up in Shanghai. It was in this city that I witnessed the devastating turn of events during COVID-19. Covid lockdowns forced many people to abandon their pets, and public awareness of stray-animal welfare remains limited despite expanding rescue efforts. During the summer after my freshman year, supported by a $200 Deerfield CSGC summer grant, I collaborated with TA Shanghai, a local nonprofit I’ve worked with since sixth grade, to document rescues and educate the public through photography and social media videos. Using grant-funded filming equipment, I joined volunteer activities, worked alongside rescuers, and began editing my first video.
Wetland
Over the summer after my sophomore year, I received the Deerfield CSGC summer grant, a budget of 300$, to travel to Chongming Dongtan and document the wetland’s beauty, and the pollution threatening it, which pushed me from simply observing to joining hands-on cleanup efforts. Wanting to turn awareness into action, I partnered with a local school art club to run workshops where children responded to my photos through drawing and painting. I then presented my work and reflections back to my school community.
