Aina binti Sukri (MIC180001)

GIG1005 SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT 

Reflective Writing

Aina binti Sukri (MIC180001)   Date: 23rd March 2020

Growing up, I find myself having a strong aspiration to contribute back to the society in a way that is not as cliché or a norm. When I first heard of social engagement from students of other courses, the experiences differ from one to another but they had a common flow of how it was conducted. Truthfully, the idea of social engagement was not that interesting in the first place because of the stereotype that revolves around it. Social engagement equals to visits to Perkampungan Orang Asal, teaching UPSR/PT3/SPM students or volunteering at a soup kitchen. After the first briefing with our coordinator, Dr Puah, I saw a new light as what we are conducting during school visits were different than just coming and teach based on the school curricular. I was intrigued with the idea of actually giving early exposure of what we are currently studying as biomedical science students to high school students. The modules mainly focus on DNA and microbiology, which I find really interesting. Probably social engagement is not a bad idea after all.

The first module was conducted on a Wednesday evening prior to our visit to SMK (P) Sri Aman on Friday. The purpose of conducting a workshop was to familiarize ourselves with the activity that will be conducted before being the facilitators of the programme. The first module was on DNA extraction. My high-school self would have the idea that DNA cannot be seen by the naked eye, and requires a microscope. This activity was wholesome because we can actually extract our own DNA and view it with out own eyes with basic equipment that can be found in our own household, thus defying the idea of DNA cannot be seen by our naked eye. Prior to the workshop, we did experience extracting DNA from our saliva during Genetics class last semester, so we had a brief idea of the basic protocols. We had some handy tips on how to have a higher yield of DNA by massaging our cheeks while gargling the salt water. In addition, what makes it more interesting is we also extracted DNA from fruits. Different fruits such as papaya and banana were used during the workshop. It was a fun experience trying to smash the fruits into small pieces using our own creative way. Some rolled the Ziploc containing the fruits, some smash the fruits with our own fists. Chaotic screams filled the seminar room as we tried to filter the fruits using a coffee filter that could collapse any time. The key points of the experiment and the demonstration was done by a group of postgraduate students that have demonstrated the same experiment to a group of high school students. 

On Friday afternoon, the journey to SMK (P) Sri Aman took roughly 15 minutes. It felt weird being in a school compound after leaving school for 4 years. The enthusiasm of the students was spiking high and I can feel the youth energy from them. The session started with a brief introduction to DNA which was presented by our fellow batchmates. A few confused faces were shown by student and I asked a few students and they stated that they are actually not a pure science stream student and had a difficulty to understand. It was a relief that after a few simple analogies, they were able to understand the concept better. We took a short break before continuing with the session.

We begin the session with demonstration of the DNA extraction process and the materials involved. A few facilitators, which are composed of our batchmates, were stationed at every group. The first activity was extraction of DNA from saliva. There were different facial expressions as they were required to gargle salt water. As the photographer that day, I managed to capture different facial expressions that clearly dreaded the 60 seconds gargling experience. The students were amazed by their long strands of DNA yield. Next activity was the extraction of fruit DNA. Different groups were given different fruits, and it was fun seeing their creative methods to smash the fruits into small pieces. Since my group ended their experiment quite early, they had a small chit-chat with us. As former SPM students ourselves, we asked them regarding their studies and their future planning after SPM. It was great having a sharing session with the students as they were feeling lost about their planning and what they want to achieve. We also gave them personal tips on how to study for each SPM subjects. I was also glad that they were amazed of what we have achieved throughout our school years, and it was a great feeling to be able to inspire the young.

Albert Pike once said, “What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.” Even though it was a short experience, it was a valuable memory for me. Though we could not be there for a second session that we have prepared due to CoVid-19, the experience from handling the first visit was wholesome. The response from the crowd was overwhelming despite our shortcomings. There were misunderstandings and actions that were impulse and not according to plan, causing the overall flow of the programme to be messy and out of control. Despite the miscommunications, we overcame the disagreements and learnt from our mistakes nevertheless. Overall, it was a great experience for me and I could foresee myself doing the same thing in a different setting. Being a facilitator for these types of programmes did instil a great sense of wanting to educate others with what I have been learning. Thanks to Social Engagement, I found a platform that could encourage me to volunteer and give back to the community in areas that I expertise in. I do find myself more confident and I am more than willing to contribute to more volunteering programmes after this.

(994 words)