England: Logan Hanson (Interact)

Interact

Imperial Soup Run Society

This year, to get out of the dorms and meet some new faces outside of the UW cohort and FIE, I joined a few different societies at the Imperial College of London. One of the most interesting ones being the Soup Run Society. Every Sunday evening they take a group of members out to Lincoln’s Inn Fields to help one of the local charities give out hot meals and beverages to the homeless and those in need. It intrigued me because not only was it an opportunity to volunteer and help the community I now live in, but also a great opportunity to meet and engage with locals and students from Imperial College. Unfortunately, with the high demand this year, members can only sign up for one weekend per semester. But, when it was my time to go, I found that my assumptions were correct. Overall, the few hours I had with Soup Run were very enjoyable and I learned a lot from the people there.

Among us five volunteers from Imperial there were quite a variety of courses, degrees, and backgrounds. From engineering to virology, and first-year undergraduates to master’s degree students, there were a lot of differences in our college experiences. Not only that, but a few of us were not raised in the United Kingdom or London, so it was interesting to compare our different countries and experiences in the city and university.

One of the first things I learned was that the United Kingdom does not really have majors per se, instead they have ‘courses’. When they all applied to Imperial College, they applied to their course specifically. On top of that, a vast majority of classes they will take will be directly related to their course. From what I have gathered, they do not really offer humanities courses or a liberal arts education. However, their Bachelor’s degree typically only takes three years and many of them seem to take a gap year. As the only American in the group, they were equally shocked at how colleges in the United States operated. They were surprised at how much humanities you have to take for even a mathematics or physics degree and that they take four years to complete. They were also astounded at the cost of university in the US, as it is one of the biggest differences in government attitudes between our countries. One thing we did find common ground on was the city; it is quite big, but there is enough variance between the boroughs to keep it continuously interesting, and public transport makes it easy to get to these areas.

Besides getting to meet other students, the work we were doing was extremely gratifying. It had been a while since I had last done some community service, so it was nice to get back into the rhythm and to do something with my hands to help the people around me. We all helped set up for the soup run by moving tables, sorting out food and beverages, or preparing bags for food. After setup, I was assigned to bagging duty. There, three of us were tasked with asking what hot meal they wanted: either a hamburger, a meat dish, or a veggie dish, and then placed it in the to-go bag for them. The one non-Imperial volunteer working with us studied advertising and it showed in the best way. He greeted everyone warmly and explained the food options and that they were all halal. When we got down to just the veggie dishes he had to convince them how good it was and that it would be great for their health. It was great to watch and I was happy to work with him.

However, one of the biggest takeaways from the night was that the number one thing the homeless need is respect. The organizer of the group we volunteered for had all the newbies come around and he explained why they did this charity. For some people, this is the only cooked meal they get all week. Many are holding a job and are unable to afford housing. Some may have been laid off and are trying to get their life back together. Whatever the case, the best thing we can do is treat them with respect and dignity, have a conversation, and have a fresh meal with them.

Overall, this was one of the more memorable nights in London. I learned a lot about our neighboring college and how the school system even in high school operates. My respect for the homeless and those in need was reinforced and I was glad to be able to do something for them. Not only that, but it was generally just a good time. We had good conversations and hearty laughs and it felt good to do something productive that was not just classwork. I intend on signing up again next semester and hopefully can attend more than one session because the people and sense of community there was such a wonderful experience.

Logan Hanson

Major: Physics

Hometown: Wittenberg, Wisconsin