UT Students Experience Inaugural Service-Learning Study Abroad Program
In early March, patchwork tote bags brimming with goodies were distributed to attendees at the 2025 Women in Business, Entrepreneurship, and Leadership Summit held by Haslam’s OACC. Lovingly crafted in UT’s traditional colors by female artisans in Vietnam, these bags were a physical example of the service-learning completed by several UT students.
Learning While Serving
Over the 2025 winter break, Haslam’s IPSA hosted the inaugural Economic Empowerment Service Project in Vietnam, a service-learning study abroad program exposing participants to Vietnam’s business, culture, and community initiatives. Students partnered with Mekong Quilts, a social enterprise that empowers female artisans in the rural Mekong Delta, providing them with income and helping fund meaningful initiatives within their communities.
Over a 10-day program, participants collaborated with the artisans to craft custom tote bags commissioned for the summit. Kaeley Morton, a Knoxville native and recent accounting graduate with a collateral in finance and minor in sustainability, found working with the artisans especially meaningful.
“The experience gave me a deeper appreciation for their craft and the joy they find in collaborating to support their families,” Morton said. “It was beautiful to witness their passion firsthand, and it inspired me to shop more ethically and support local initiatives.”
Experiencing Vietnam
IPSA’s first service-learning experience also participated in sustainability and cultural projects. Students learned the traditional craft of water hyacinth weaving, upcycled plastic bottles to create green spaces at a local school, visited a recycled plastic workshop, and met a scholarship recipient of a program by the Ánh Dương Center, a local nonprofit.
Son N. Quang, a PhD student in the Tickle College of Engineering’s Department of Nuclear Engineering, who is from Vietnam, chose to engage in the program to provide meaningful service in his home country while sharing the vibrancy of Vietnamese culture with his fellow Vols.
“Ironically, while I set out to ‘teach’ others about Vietnam, I ended up learning so much more about my home country through their eyes,” Quang said. “It was a humbling experience, and I realized that cultural exchange is a two-way street. It made me see Vietnam in a new light.”
Sara Easler, Haslam’s assistant dean of International Programs and Partnerships, called the program impactful, saying, “It’s always rewarding to launch a program that you’ve spent so much time designing, but this one was special for so many reasons. The students were sincerely dedicated to the projects, as well as the personal connections they made. Seeing our Vols in action, working long and hard in challenging physical environments with smiles on their faces, really embodied the Volunteer Spirit we hope to extend globally.”
This hard work from students and program administrators paid off. Haslam’s Vietnam study abroad program won the 2025 GoAbroad Award in the Innovative Volunteer Abroad category from NAFSA: Association of International Educators, the world’s largest nonprofit association dedicated to international education and exchange, at the organizations’ annual conference.
