Last month, I reflected on what it truly means to give.
This time, I want to take it one step further — by sharing real stories from our Utah Asia Campus community that show how service shapes not just others, but ourselves too.
A Conversation with Professor Schuckman
One of the most inspiring people I spoke with was Professor Hugh Schuckman, Associate Professor of Writing & Rhetoric Studies.
Professor Schuckman has an extensive and impressive academic background and has taught in several countries, including Japan, South Korea, and Mongolia.
Having taught across Japan, South Korea, and Mongolia, he brings a global heart to our campus. Outside the classroom, he’s a passionate traveler and yoga lover — and, as I learned, a firm believer in service.
Lessons from a Beach Cleanup
Professor Schuckman shared a story from his Global Citizenship course: a beach cleanup project in Incheon.
“We had about 45 students head out early Saturday morning, trash bags and tongs in hand,” he told me. What started as a simple task turned into a wake-up call.
“There was way more garbage than we expected. It really shocked us.”
Cleaning the beach wasn’t just about making it prettier — it built a sense of community, teamwork, and purpose.
But as he wisely pointed out, the trash keeps coming back. True change, he said, requires deeper, ongoing engagement with local communities.
And that stuck with me — that giving isn’t just about one act. It’s about building lasting connections.
The Meaning of “Accompaniment”
Professor Schuckman introduced me to the beautiful idea of accompaniment. “If you dial down into the etymology… cum in Latin is ‘with,’ and pan[em] means ‘bread.’ To accompany someone is literally to share bread—to truly walk alongside them.” In service, it’s not about swooping in to fix things. It’s about being present, understanding joys and struggles alike.
That simple idea reshaped how I see giving: not as charity, but as friendship.
Future Projects: Mongolia and Beyond
This summer, Professor Schuckman is taking students to Mongolia to work with Save the Children. Through a connection with a former UN ambassador, they’ll have the chance to engage deeply with local communities.
Closer to home, he’s also leading Writing Center volunteers to teach English calligraphy to Koryoin (Russian-speaking Korean returnee) children.
I definitely hope to join one of these events — and if you’re interested, you should reach out too.
What First Sparked His Journey
I asked Professor Schuckman what first drew him to service. He shared memories from high school, where a priest named Father King took him to volunteer at a soup kitchen.
Later, at just 16, he spent six weeks in the Dominican Republic, helping at an orphanage near the Haitian border. It was there, he said, that his life truly changed.
“It was a kind of metanoia — a deep change of heart.”
He saw unimaginable poverty. He saw hope, too. And he decided then that his life would be about lifting others up.
Reflection Makes Service Deeper
Service without reflection, he told me, loses its meaning.
Drawing from the thinker Gustavo Gutiérrez, he emphasized the cycle of “praxis and reflection” — action, followed by deep questioning.
What was my role?
How did I affect others?
What did I learn?
These questions, he said, are what turn good intentions into true growth.
A Moment He Will Never Forget
As a Peace Corps volunteer in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert, he once passed a coal station on a freezing evening. There, he saw a grandfather and grandson picking through burnt coal, searching for scraps to heat their home.
“That image,” he told me, “has stayed with me ever since.”
It was a harsh reminder of how real and urgent poverty is — and why service isn’t optional. It’s necessary.
Service Is Inevitable
Professor Schuckman left me with words I’ll carry with me::
“It’s important to realize that everyone is interrelated. Someone like Paul Farmer would say that when you see poverty, it’s a moment of clarity—that poverty is a manifestation of evil.
If we want to make this world more eudaimonic—more flourishing—we must work toward the fulfillment of all beings.”
He concluded: “Service is the main purpose of our lives. Lifting others up… it should be the focus of our lives. It’s not just important—it’s inevitable.”
Giving is not just a good thing to do. It’s how we build a better, more flourishing world — together.
So what does it mean to give?
It means to invest. To care. To build. To accompany.
How will I seek accompaniment?
How will you?
– Written by Kelani Tsai, Spring 2025 Communications Intern at Marketing & Communication Center, University of Utah Asia Campus (Reviewed & edited by Yoonji Kim, Senior Communications specialist, University of Utah Asia Campus)
