Time flies when you are having fun. Here is a recap of our 5th DLDP session for our high school students held on March 4th.
This past session was full of valuable information, and I know our students left excited to embark on Study Abroad programs when they are given the chance. The session was led by our Program coordinator, Toluwani.
Coming close to home, our lovely Board Member, Dr. Melissa Sinclair had a great conversation with our students about her career in humanitarianism and her path leading up to it. Dr. Sinclair highlighted that her choice to engage in humanitarianism is not meant to be unique but “is what we practice every day.” In turn, her work has promoted her personal and professional growth while expanding her world view. In addition, Dr. Sinclair shared how engaging in study abroad programs are a great way to start international exposure and can prepare one for humanitarian work abroad.
Our students felt inspired and expressed their interest in taking advantage of study abroad opportunities. This aligned perfectly with their Education Diplomacy skills institute. We asked our students to pick from three D.C. university study abroad programs and document aspects of a program that interests them. We chose this activity to get our students thinking about what international opportunities they would want to participate in post-secondary education. That way they can begin to take steps to prepare for them. It has been shown that study abroad programs can have positive effects on one's view of other cultures and global challenges. According to a recent study, “study abroad completers suggested that they became more globally competent through their study abroad experiences—e.g., by overcoming a sense of discomfort interacting with people from different cultures.... in doing so, students developed their social responsibility because they became knowledgeable and thus concerned about local and international problems.” (Kishino & Takahashi, 2019) It was amazing to hear about the various programs they are interested in, and how we as an organization can support them. As for their gifts, our students were given a compact-able travel bag. We love providing our students with travel materials, and we cannot wait to get them the passports to match. Our sessions are intended to push students outside of their comfort zones and broaden their perspectives of what they can accomplish domestically and internationally.
If you are interested in getting involved in Diplomatic Perspective and supporting our goal of providing our students with their first passports, click here for more information.
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