About DSVV

I volunteered at Dev Sanskriti Vishv Vidyaalay (DSVV), Haridwar, for two months this summer.  I thought I would write my experiences down before it all just became a pleasant memory of yesterday.  

While I was at DSVV my daily routine was quite relaxed.  As I did not have to do any cooking, cleaning or driving to do I had plenty of time to do my volunteer assignment and work on my personal growth (although I don’t know how much I grew up!).  

My residence, the guest house, was on the DSVV campus and conveniently surrounded by the administration building (my main volunteer location), the canteen (chaach was great in during the hot summer afternoons!!) and the library.  My B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees are also from India and being here brought back many memories of my college days ....mostly good.  

DSVV is a residential university, and all faculty, staff and students live on campus.  It is really like having a huge family living together (yikes!!).   Everyone knows everyone!! I got to know so many people during my two months there and by the end they did seem like my family to me.  The residence halls (hostels) were very comfortable and again I was taken back to my B.Sc. days in my hostel in Meerut (fun times!).  The students at DSVV are lucky to be in a great place with such a safe, beautiful and clean environment. 

The university’s mission is not only to educate students to help them get a job but also to make them a good well rounded human being.  They all learn the philosophy of Acharya Sharma ji and hopefully they will all become good citizens of India. 

One of the unique aspects of the university was the three month internship that all students have to do after they finish their certificate or degree.  I have not heard of that requirement anywhere.  It is an opportunity for the students to go out to a different part of India (could be anywhere) and demonstrate what they have learned, academically and spiritually.

During my two months at DSVV I did a variety of little projects and some major ones.  There were some days that were a little slow but overall I was quite busy…..