The Global Service Scholars is a 3-quarter program offering UC Irvine undergraduates the opportunity to study compassion and participate in immersive service experiences. In partnership with the School of Social Ecology and the Living Peace Foundation, the program is rooted in compassion and pairs rigorous academic preparation with an immersive service-learning trip. Scholars, including many minority and first-generation college students, first learn about the science and practice of compassion in specialized coursework, examining how to cultivate compassion for others and how to effectively leverage that compassion to make a difference. Then, they put those lessons to practical use working with organizations that work in numerous areas such as sustainability, poverty alleviation and justice.” VACorps is the in-country service provider for the University of California at Irvine (UCI) School of Social Ecology Global Services Scholars program in Cape Town. The partnership was established in 2019.