Volunteering Stories: AIESEC’s Enduring Impact
Hear from Sandun Abeywardhana, an exchange participant and alumni of AIESEC in Kandy and the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka who embarked on a journey to Vietnam through AIESEC in Kandy.
Meet Sandun!
Our alumnus Sandun Abeywardana was able to join us virtually to share his story with us. Though he graduated from the University of Peradeniya with a degree in Civil Engineering back in 2019, he is currently serving as a Project Manager in the IT sector. His roles, holding managerial positions at AIESEC, have helped him adapt to his shift in the job market. His is a story that is truly inspiring for any undergraduate.
A rocky road leading to a destination of achievement
His journey as an exchange participant of AIESEC began in 2015, through a twist of fate, his plans to climb the Himalayas would crash and his first exchange opportunity to visit Vietnam would take off. His hidden self who had not been able to make a comfort zone of AIESEC was in for a complete transformation. Seeing the AIESEC poster on volunteering abroad while going through the Akbar canteen changed his life, quite literally!
In Vietnam, he was engaged in a volunteer English teaching project. But as he fondly recalled – his experience was complete because of the other exchange participants he met through the project. His fellow exchange participants came from around the world: from the land down under to China, Indonesia, India and so on. His memory could jot down in detail how one of them losing a backpack in a taxi brought them closer. His exchange programme took place during the December holidays in 2015. He spent his Christmas with different cultures, cruising around Vietnam.
Along with the valuable experience of teaching the youngsters English, Sandun also got to learn. His newfound friends taught him about culture and hospitality – one even went to the extent of inviting him to celebrate their Lunar New Year with them. At the Global Village in Vietnam, he dressed in a traditional Sinhala batik attire and waved our flag up high! His eyes have been culturally coloured ever since – over the year, his friends from that exchange trip to Vietnam still keep in touch!
Aftermath
Post his volunteering experience, he became a part of the organisation within the University of Peradeniya. He climbed the ladder in the organisation of AIESEC where he ultimately held the National role of being a part of the National Body of AIESEC Sri Lanka, becoming one of the first Kandy members to ever do so. A long journey indeed yet, it didn’t quite halt there. He later became a part of the National body of AIESEC in Vietnam for the 2019/20 term, to relive and as tribute to his life-changing volunteering experience in Vietnam that started it all.
Even though Sandun’s AIESEC journey unfolded in 2015, its impact has been transformative and timeless. It is a testament to how volunteering with AIESEC leaves lasting impressions that stay on with you for life.
Thisandi Weerasinghe
AIESEC in University of Peradeniya
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Tags: #Undergraduate, AIESEC, AIESECinUOP, AIESEClk, experience, Leadership, volunteering Last modified:
