Sydney Garvis OC ‘18

Sydney Garvis Headshot.jpg
 

Syiah Kuala, Indonesia (2018-20)

Sydney Garvis ‘18, a Geology and Hispanic Studies double major, is the 2018-2020 Fellow to Universitas Syiah Kuala in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Sydney has a passion for teaching, both working in the Oberlin SITES (Spanish in the Elementary Schools) program and studying language pedagogy with Professor Kim Faber. She also has a long track record of engaging with other cultures, from her semester spent in Argentina where she coached a girls’ soccer club to more recently participating in a winter term project in Indonesia with Professor Jennifer Fraser. Sydney became deeply interested in both Indonesia and Banda Aceh during the trip, and she decided to apply to the Aceh Fellowship as a perfect combination of her desire to teach, work abroad, and learn more about Indonesia. As a top-tier athlete—she’s captain of the women’s’ lacrosse team and has played throughout her time in Oberlin—she also hopes to find ways to engage with sports in Indonesia as well as explore the stunning environment in Aceh.

Featured
Before My Eyes
Before My Eyes

Sydney Garvis ‘18, Syiah Kuala University Fellow

Aceh is a place that has altered the way I live, in ways that I only register when I leave and return and notice differences again. When I first arrived, I thought I could never get used to these changes, but now they feel like normal afterthoughts.

Shansi Mythology
Shansi Mythology

Sydney Garvis ‘18, Syiah Kuala University Fellow

The house has been passed down from Shansi fellow to Shansi fellow since the second year ever of Shansi fellows in Aceh, in 2008. Not only the structure, but all the half-used spices in the kitchen, the paperbacks on the shelf, the clothing that couldn’t be shoved in a suitcase, and roommates and beloved friends, have been passed down as well.