St. Olaf College | Northfield, Minnesota, USA

St. Olaf Summer International Service Learning
Service in Thailand: Vocation and Non-Governmental Organizations
June 9-30, 2006

From L to R: José Martínez Romo ’08 , Linn Dale ’07, Khammawan Tangtanaporn '09, Luyen Dinh Phan ’92, Vera Belazelkoska '09, Chad Goodroad ’09

Luyen Dinh Phan ’92, (International Student Adviser and Associate Director of Admissions), led a group of St. Olaf students to Thailand where they worked with the McKean Rehabilitation Center in Chiang Mai in order to understand how non-governmental organizations work to improve the lives of the people they serve.

The McKean Rehabilitation Center is named after its founder, James W. McKean, an American missionary surgeon who went to Chiang Mai in 1887. McKean's initial work was with leprosy patients. Today the McKean Center continues to work with leprosy patients but also with Thai citizens facing
a variety of diseases and disabilities.

The group worked with disabled elderly who reside in the Buraphaniwet Village. Many of these elderly patients have no homes or families. Luyen and his students provided non-critical nursing care to the residents, including but not limited to cleaning, feeding, helping with physical activites, and helping the patients attend church or temple services.

Service in Thailand Participants

Click on the participant's name to read thier comments.

Luyen Dinh Phan ’92, International Student Adviser and Associate Director of Admission first studied in Thailand as a student on the Term in Asia program, 1990-91. He lived in Thailand for five-years (94-99) working as an English teacher, managing the Thailand office of World Teach and then for Population Development International. Luyen will use the experience to better advise international students, stressing the mission of the College, as well as sharing the experience with prospective students and their families.

The following students were chosen for their diverse academic interests and personal experience. They are all developing into citizens of the world due to the fact that nearly all are currently international students at St. Olaf and/or were high school exchange students.

Vera Belazelkoska, Macedonia, '09
Vera hopes to work for the UN one day where she will be able to explore her interested in international relations, economics, and political science.

Linn Dale, Norway, '07
Linn would like to pursue a career in nursing upon completion of her St. Olaf students in psychology and exercise science.

Chad Goodroad, U.S., '09
Chad was a Rotary Exchange student in France (04-05) and aspires to work for an international NGO. He hopes to learn how McKean operates and apply his English and political science majors.

José Martínez Romo, México, '08
Jose, biology and Spanish education major, hopes to learn about Thailand culture and communication styles.

Khammawan (Tong) Tangtanaporn, Thailand, '09
Tong, chemistry major at St. Olaf, would like to attend medical school in the U.S. before retuning to her homeland. Tong will help with group with orientation.