Sikh Mayor is a globe trotter

Thu, Sep 10, 2009 11:02:37

Former MSU alumnus and E.L. mayor Singh finishes 17 month trip spanning 46 countries
For former East Lansing Mayor Sam Singh, the dream began with a magazine. From the age of 12, Singh envisioned himself as a world traveler, creating imaginary itineraries while looking at National Geographic.

“I would get National Geographic magazines and write down places I wanted to see,” Singh said. “I always wanted to (travel) when I finished my undergraduate at MSU, but I got involved with politics and never really had the time. It was just a trip here or there, but nothing that was long-term.”

Sixteen years later, Singh’s dream became a reality as the former city official and MSU alumnus traveled for 17 months, crossing seven continents and 46 countries. Singh visited destinations including Egypt, South Africa and India beginning in January 2008 and wrapping up in May 2009.

Singh began the trip with a goodbye party in the Bahamas at the end of December 2007.
His parents were among the group of 20 family members and friends to send Singh off on his journey from the Bahamas.

“We were excited in terms of his travel,” said Karan Singh, Sam’s father. “Initially, he was going to take a year off. We were a little apprehensive about that.”

When Sam Singh, 38, first began making his plans, Michael Baird, a college friend, wasn’t sure it was really going to happen. But Baird said once Singh sets his mind on something, he does it.
“I think all of us didn’t think it was going to happen until it actually did,” Baird said. “He’s always talked about it, but we wondered, ‘Is he really going to do it?’ When we were making arrangements to go to the Bahamas to see him off, it was like, ‘Wow, he’s really going to do it.’”
For five years, Sam Singh was saving his money to prepare for the trip, but that wasn’t what he originally planned on doing with his savings.

“I had some money saved up to get a masters in business, but then I thought I was never going to have a chance to travel, so I used the money and spent time on the road,” he said.
The travel destinations Sam Singh chose revolved around the events and places he wanted to see. From running a half-marathon in Antarctica, to attending the Olympics in China, to working with Habitat for Humanity in Costa Rica and volunteering with an orphanage in Tanzania, he started crossing things off his list.

“I’ve always worked in nonprofit organizations and have been active in volunteering since my time at MSU,” Singh said. “While traveling on my sabbatical, I wanted to learn a lot through volunteerism, whether working directly or going to international nonprofit organizations and just visit to see how they work, in order to have better learning experience while traveling.”
Before he was mayor, Singh served as the president and CEO of the Michigan Nonprofit Association. Kyle Caldwell, who now holds Singh’s former position, wasn’t surprised that his former colleague volunteered while on his trip. Caldwell considers Singh a centered person who knows what he wants out of life and serving others.

“He’s one of those people who thinks his work and his goals in life are all intertwined,” Caldwell said. “He is able to get a tremendous amount of work done as well as enjoying it.”
With the help of technology, Singh was able to maintain communication with those back in the U.S. by keeping a blog.

“We tried to talk to him every now and then and we were following on his Web site, almost continuously,” Karan Singh said.

Of all the countries Sam Singh traveled, the beauty of Antarctica surprised him the most.
“I thought it would be cold and bare land,” he said. “To be surrounded by penguins and all those other things was just amazing. It’s place that’s isolated from human touch.”

Singh returned to the U.S. in May and began working with the Public Policy Associates and New Economy Initiative for Southeast Michigan in the hope of spreading what he learned during his travels.

Lisa Sommer, media relations manager for the Michigan Nonprofit Association, worked with Sam Singh before and after his trip. Sommer said he has become more worldly but still is looking to make a change in the local community.

“The fact that what’s happening here makes a difference and he makes a bigger connection of what we do here in our community,” Sommer said. “I’ve always seen that in him. Now he’s had the opportunity to see it full-circle.”

On Oct. 1, Sam Singh will give a lecture at the Hannah Community Center, 819 Abbot Road, about his experiences and the importance of becoming a global community.

In addition to working with various nonprofit organizations, Sam Singh said he’s working on an outline for a book and participating in a series of public discussions about his travel and his advocacy for East Lansing to become a more global community.

“I want to be able to capture the experience I had, but also document the ideas I had to foster a global community,” Singh said.

Though he said traveling the world instead of attaining a graduate degree was a difficult decision, Singh said he doesn’t regret the choice he made because his biggest fear was not taking the opportunity.

“It was so gratifying to be able to do what I did. It was an incredible learning experience,” Singh said. “I look back and wonder, ‘Did that really happen?’ It’s one of those life experiences that I will take with me wherever I go.”

Source: State News

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