AISG Students Reflect on the Crossroads Refugee Run

Some learning stays with students because it is challenging. Some stays with them because it is emotional. And some stays because, even for a moment, it makes the world feel more real.

That is what made the recent Crossroads Refugee Run such a powerful experience for AISG students, caregivers, faculty and alumni.

Through this immersive experience, students, caregivers, faculty and alumni were invited to step beyond headlines and statistics and into a deeper understanding of what displacement, fear, uncertainty, and survival can feel like. 

Crossroads Refugee Run is designed to help participants engage more directly with the realities faced by displaced communities around the world, creating an experience that is intended not simply to inform, but to shift perspective.

For others, it was the realism of the experience that stayed with them:

What stands out in these reflections is not only emotional response, but perspective. Students, caregivers, faculty and alumni began to move beyond sympathy into understanding. That is an important shift: from observing hardship at a distance to recognizing personal responsibility and possibility.

This is why experiences like this matter at AISG. Preparing students for life beyond graduation is not only about academics, university pathways, or future careers. It is also about helping them understand the world they are entering, the realities other communities face, and the role they can play in responding with empathy, awareness, and action. 

When students encounter something this powerful and this real, it can leave a lasting imprint on how they think, what they value, and how they choose to engage with the world around them.

This is where Impact Beyond Graduation comes to life. At AISG, impact is not only measured by what students achieve, but by how deeply they understand others, how thoughtfully they respond to real-world challenges, and how willing they are to carry that understanding forward. Experiences like the Crossroads Refugee Run help build exactly that kind of perspective.

We are grateful to Crossroads Foundation, a trusted AISG strategic partner, for creating opportunities like this for our AISG community. Crossroads President David Begbie was recently honored with the Spirit of Community Award at the 2026 Spirit of Hong Kong Awards, recognizing work that has helped turn empathy into action through immersive humanitarian experiences. 

This transformative experience was made possible through the AISG Annual Fund. 

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