Facilitator Corner: Jialu Sun
"FIUTS is just like a family and all the FIUTS facilitators are like family members to each other." Read about the experiences of one of our amazing volunteer student leaders!
FIUTS Facilitators are volunteer student leaders from all over the world who welcome new international visitors, help to organize events, and lead activities for hundreds of students each quarter. Read on to find out more about the FIUTS facilitator experience this month's featured facilitator!
Name: Jialu Sun
Country: China
Major: Material Sciences and engineering (undeclared)
Class: 2017
FIUTS Facilitator Since: Winter 2014
Introduction
My name is Jialu Sun and I like my last name. I am from Beijing, China. I have been in US for nearly 9 months. I joined FIUTS in my second quarter in UW. I like playing musical instruments, especially Chinese musical instruments. I have learned Chinese Zither (or guzheng in Chinese) since I was 4 years old. I learned Japanese for a while, so I can speak Chinese, English and Japanese. I am really interested in different cultures, and I like making friends with others, helping people, so I joined FIUTS.
What does it mean to be a FIUTS facilitator?
Students getting ready for a FIUTS trip to Boeing - one of many activities Jialu has facilitated
Being a facilitator means having more responsibilities. As an international student, I know how hard it is when coming to a new land with totally different culture meeting people with different language. The role of facilitator is providing support to students, especially international students, helping them adapt to American culture as soon as possible. FIUTS is just like a family and all the FIUTS facilitators are like family members to each other. Being a facilitator helps me make a lot of friends and visit a lot of places around Seattle. Also, I practice my leadership while leading the activities as well as teamwork while cooperating with other fellow facilitators. Leading a diverse group of students I can learn different cultures at the same time.
What is your favorite FIUTS anecdote as a facilitator?
FIUTS students on Bainbridge Island
My favorite memory of facilitating a FIUTS event is the exploring Bainbridge tour. That was the first time that I saw so many people participating in FIUTS activity. We gathered at Burke Museum at 10 o’ clock with more than 50 people and we played an icebreaker game. We took the ferry to Bainbridge Island. It was the first time for most of students to take the ferry, but they all enjoyed that moment. After landing, we took a group picture with the landmark sculpture and separated the large group into smaller groups. Although the day we went to the Bainbridge Island was Easter and bike or boat renting shops were closed, we had delicious ice cream, played swing and so on. It was indeed interesting and definitely my favorite memory facilitating FIUTS event.
What tips or comments do you have for peer facilitators?
Jialu, second from right, with (L-R) Andreas, Jacky, Juliet, and Fleur, who all helped to staff the FIUTS booth at the U District Street Fair
1. Arrive at the place where all the facilitators head up before the activity on time, so that you can discuss your plan with other facilitators or listen to their advices. Meeting with fellow facilitators in advance can form a stronger facilitator bonding.
2. Be prepared with your facilitator work. Remember you are the person whom other students rely on. Also, potential problems may happen while leading an activity, don’t panic, and control other participants’ emotion and then find the solution.
3. Be passionate and outgoing. Try to initiate conversations among students by doing some icebreaker games or ask them some words in their own language.
Learn more about the FIUTS Facilitator program here!
More Facilitator Corner posts:
Fleur Xuanlin Li, Saleh Alwabel, Clara Jiayao Lu, Le (Juliet) Huang, David Veth, Yili (Jacky) Chen, Jonathan Cheng, Fah Thamsuwan, Charlie Warner, Katherine Li, Nabil Sutjipto, Jeremy Sculley, Ani Antonyan, Jaisang Sun