Tsunami!

The college reaches out to colleagues and children in Thailand

Mental health personnel plan and deliver services at a tsunami survivor camp.
Below: Children’s drawings after the tsunami.

When John Romano, counseling and student personnel psychology professor, and doctoral student Arunya Tuicomepee planned a trip to Thailand in January they had no idea of the destruction that would sweep that region right before their visit.

Romano, chair of the Department of Educational Psychology, and Tuicomepee, along with faculty members Fred Finley (associate professor in curriculum and instruction), Gerry Fry, and Michael Paige (both professors in educational policy and administration), went to Thailand for work with their federally-funded project, “Strengthening Civil Society Through Education.”

The project is a partnership with Chulalongkorn University and Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, both in the Kingdom of Thailand. Romano’s portion focused on looking at the impact of counseling and psychology programs in Thailand, relatively new disciplines there.

The group left Dec. 31, less than a week after the tsunami hit Dec. 26, but only with encouragement from their colleagues in Thailand that they would not be in the way. The focus of Romano and Tuicomepee’s counseling efforts quickly shifted from research to providing immediate counseling relief. In addition to counseling survivors of the tsunami, they, along with faculty and students from Chulalongkorn University, counseled the counselors, who themselves needed relief.

“You can rebuild your homes and get things running, but the mental health impact can linger for some time,” Romano says. “I was surprised how open the survivors were to share their stories—their heartbreak, sadness, grief—with strangers.”

Seeing the devastation firsthand and witnessing the resiliency of the people made a huge impact on Romano, Tuicomepee, and their counselor colleagues.

Tuicomepee, who is from northern Thailand and a faculty member at Chulalongkorn, went back to the site a few days later with a friend, where they encountered more families directly.

“It’s not just talk—it’s the way we look at each other and support each other. It’s the moment where a connection is made,” she says. “Small actions, such as being there with a family, make a huge impact. If something happened anywhere around the world, anyone can make that human connection and help.”

Romano and Tuicomepee shared their experience with members of the college community at an International Pizza and Talk event sponsored by the college’s international education committee. Romano considers this work part of a longer-term effort to continue the collaboration with the Thai universities in the field of counseling and psychology.

While not all faculty, staff, and students in the college have been able to visit Thailand, they have found ways to contribute to relief efforts. The first few days after the disaster, the student organization, Graduate Students of Education and Human Development (GradSEHD), spearheaded an Asia relief fundraising campaign within the college community. They raised $3,660 for the Save the Children Fund.

“We were shocked by the tragic loss of tens of thousands of lives and many more injuries in several Asian countries as a result of the earthquake and the related tsunamis,” says Boris Volkov, Ph.D. student in the college and GradSEHD board member.

“We were also sure that there were students in our college/university, who were from the affected countries or had family and friends there.”

GradSEHD member Lija Greenseid adds, “It’s easy to get caught up in our small world on campus. This was a meaningful way to reach out to the broader world community to show we care.” GradSEHD is still accepting contributions. Checks made out to “Save the Children” may be sent to Raleigh Kaminsky, alumni relations director, 105 Burton Hall, 178 Pillsbury Dr. S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55455.

—Rebecca Noran