Arts & Sciences Spring 2024

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The Syracuse students also interviewed their OCC partners on topics including the refugee experience, life as an immigrant in Syracuse, and linguistic, cultural and economic challenges. The interviews became the basis of their final class projects: literary profiles about their partner. The profile written by Sunny Suaya ’27 highlighted the bond she had with her partner, Yeohyun Yoon. Born in South Korea, Yoon took the class at OCC with his wife so they could improve their English skills. He chose to translate the Korean poem, “Sky, Wind, Star and Poetry,” written by the poet Yoon Dong-ju during the Korean independence movement against the Empire of Japan in the early 20th century. In her literary profile, Suaya explained the significance of Dong-ju’s work, which she learned about through her conversations with Yeohyun, and reflected on their newly formed relationship: “Yoon Dong-ju expressed the agony of a person during the colonial era in beautiful poetry and is

considered a resistance poet who gave a ray of hope to the Korean people . . . As I ended my interview with Yeohyun, I felt our connection. We both were excited to be new friends.” This class was part of the new Engaged Courses initiative, a signature program in A&S which supports faculty seeking a community engagement component to their curriculum. For Türkkan, seeing these bonds form in class is one of the more fulfilling experiences as an educator. “This type of personal cross-cultural exchange, where students bring their strengths to the table while at the same time recognizing that their community partner has complementary strengths, is a key part of being an effective global citizen,” she says. The Engaged Courses initiative includes a class in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, where students apply knowledge from their academic coursework into clinical practice in the community.