Education Work - Peer Volunteer
PEER Suining No.1 High School: Building a “Public Living Room” in the Mountains
In Fall 2024, I served as a PEER Fellow at Suining No.1 High School in Hunan Province. Together with a group of students, I transformed an ordinary reading room into a space where people could read, rest, chat, write letters, make crafts, or host small concerts—a warm “public living room” inside the school.
Throughout the semester, I was not just a “teacher,” but a collaborator. I co-designed systems, built student teams, facilitated workshops, and also kneeled on the floor posting boards, sorting books, and setting up games. My goal was to help students rediscover curiosity, self-expression, and a sense of belonging through this shared space.
Project Background & My Role
Project: PEER Space, Suining No.1 High School (Hunan, China)
Term: Fall 2024
Position: PEER Fellow (Full-time on-campus educational practitioner)
Core responsibilities:
- Built and mentored the Student Management Committee, enabling students to co-own the space
- Designed and executed a full semester of activities and community programs (liberal arts, public engagement, expression & storytelling)
- Collaborated with multi-school partners to develop resources such as the career-planning booklet “Life Library”
- Compiled and wrote the Fall 2024 Activity Report that documents the space’s progress and student growth
01 · Student Committee: Turning Participants into Owners
The first thing I did was reconstruct the Space Management Committee:
- Designed recruitment forms, organized interviews, and guided students to articulate:
“Why do you want to help manage this space?” - Created internship task cards to help new members learn through practice
- Facilitated the first committee meeting structured around three themes—identity, rules, and action—to clarify our shared purpose and expectations
After a month of learning and collaboration, 26 students officially became committee members, rotating shifts, taking notes, and caring for the space. Gradually, they shifted from “people who use the room” to “people who want to make this place better.”
02 · Co-Designing the Rules & Environment: A Space That Feels Welcoming
Rules alone are not enough—spaces need to grow into something students love.
Together with the committee, I:
- Rewrote the Space Guidelines with gentler, student-friendly language
- Created a “Books/Films Wishlist & Recommendation Wall” to activate peer exchange
- Reorganized shelves, boards, and functional zones to transform the room from a “library” into a multi-purpose social and learning hub
These improvements didn’t just make the room prettier—they made more students feel, “This place welcomes me, too.”
03 · Liberal Arts Education: Bringing Curiosity Into Daily Life
I wanted students to encounter not only textbooks, but new possibilities. Under the theme of liberal arts education, we experimented with:
· Sports Day × Handcraft Corner
During the school’s sports festival, we turned PEER Space into a “creative rest stop”:
DIY bracelets, clay crafts, and traditional shell inlay mini-workshops created a joyful, relaxing break between competitions.
· Weekly Sunday Screenings
Across 6 weekend screenings—from Howl’s Moving Castle to Harry Potter—students arrived early to save seats, stayed after to chat, and filled the room with small handwritten notes. These afternoons became some of the semester’s most heartwarming moments.
· Media Literacy Events & the “Life Library”
- Co-hosted media literacy workshops, helping students explore how to evaluate information and news
- Contributed to the multi-school publication “Life Library”, collecting occupational stories for students to read and revisit in the future
04 · Public Engagement: Making Charity Tangible and Fun
During the “99 Giving Day” and the sports festival, I helped design student-led interactive fundraising activities:
- Game-based donation booths explaining where contributions go and why they matter
- A charity capsule-toy machine that attracted students while raising funds
- Posters and micro-events that made “public good” something accessible, relatable, and enjoyable
The goal wasn’t just fundraising—it was inviting students to understand and participate in social good.
05 · Creating Space for Expression: Letters, Writing, Games, and Music
A major part of the semester focused on helping students find their voice.
· Cross-School Pen Pal Program
Partnering with Sichuan University volunteers and five county high schools, we matched students with pen pals from different cities. Writing letters became a slow but grounding way for them to process emotions and tell their stories.
· Student Editorial Group & Anthology
I initiated a small editorial team of six committee members:
They collected essays and stories from around campus. I handled layout, editing, and printing, turning their work into a booklet that stays on the shelf—a quiet affirmation that their writing matters.
· Everyday Play
- A student-initiated “Lateral Thinking Puzzle Corner”, where anyone could pick up a puzzle and join the game
- A feminist discussion board curated with questions and prompts about gender, sparking reflection and conversation
· Music Show & New Year Fair
- A student-led autumn music show offering a non-judgmental stage for first-time performers
- A New Year mini-festival with calligraphy, games, and wishes for 2025
These moments gently encouraged students to both see and be seen.
06 · Ending the Semester: A Celebration of Small but Real Growth
For the final gathering, I designed a semester-end celebration:
- “High-five with Me,” “Give Yourself an Award,” and other reflective stations
- Certificates, small gifts, and attendance awards for committee members
- A group reflection on how both the space—and each of us—had changed
It wasn’t just a farewell. It was a collective acknowledgement that, in just one semester, these students had truly shaped the space and supported one another.
What This Experience Meant to Me
This project was where I learned to:
- Design a long-term educational ecosystem with limited resources
- Step back and allow students to become creators, organizers, and decision-makers
- Witness how education happens in the smallest details—
a movie afternoon, a letter, a few words on a community board can all spark transformation
If you’re interested, please click the link to read my full reflective summary.