The Young Leader

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3 Ways to Become a Global Leader

While students of the past needed to be proficient in Reading and Math, today’s youth lives in a much more complex world. Each day, the economy and culture grow more global – and thus, their education becomes more global.

In fact, in 2012, more than 7 Billion people had access to the Internet (*According to Internet World Stats), and thus, global interaction. As international current events become more accessible and more relevant to Americans, the development of global leadership is becoming a prerequisite for success in adulthood.

So what does that mean for today’s students? What you learn in a classroom is no longer cutting it in the competitive worlds of college and adulthood. Students need to grow their global leadership skills to gain worldly experience, to expand their perspectives and to learn how a variety of nations have great impacts on each other.

Not sure how to expand your horizons? Check out these 3 tips for becoming a better global leader.

1. Watch international news. With the internet, news is no longer limited to the CBS, NBS and ABC nightly broadcasts. Exposing yourself to international news helps you understand what’s happening politically and culturally in other countries. It also helps you understand what’s important to your country as well as others.

2. Learn a new language. Instead of memorizing Spanish words to pass your weekly quiz, make a genuine effort to learn a new language. Don’t limit yourself to languages taught in your school. Choose a language that’s connected to a culture you are passionate about. Participate in a language immersion trip. As you learn the language, you will pick up on cultural distinctions as well.

3. Go on an international service trip. Many high school volunteers don’t look outside the community service opportunities offered at their schools. But participating in international service learning opens students’ minds to both new cultures and the struggles of the world. Volunteering abroad helps develop leadership skills and cultural perspective – plus, it helps those less fortunate!

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"Tanzania – My Lasting Mental Oasis" by: Colin Wallace, Tanzania 2012.

Colin Wallace, Giving of Self Reflection

Fragments of life rushed past me as I sat in the back of the bus that took us to and from work each day. The first day I began teaching English in a small primary school in Tanzania, I felt overwhelmed and insecure by the sheer unfamiliarity of my surroundings: the language, the people, the culture—everything was foreign. I stopped and asked myself what I was doing in a country halfway around the world where I couldn’t speak their language and I did not know a soul, and the only answer I could muster up was that I was pursuing my passion of service. However, I found by the end of my trip that my time spent amongst the Tanzanian culture created a lasting mental oasis for me that I am still able to draw from, sip out of its refreshing waters, and lose myself from reality.

The speed at which Americans move each day was modeled well upon my arrival in the JFK airport on my return home. It was when I was surrounded by this familiar buzz of stress in everyday life that I instantly began to reflect back on my life-changing experience in Tanzania to feel a sense of peace and perspective. This intense culture shock made me realize how valuable my experience in Tanzania was, and the ability I had to get lost in the moments I have collected in my memory.

I get lost in memories of the children I worked with at Himo and Korona primary schools, remembering their elation at the start of each day and the juxtaposition with their extreme lack of resources to pursue a future. I expected much sadness and grief when I went to Tanzania; rather, I saw a joy that was foreign to me. Back home in America, I had never seen such gratitude taken in such small things. The children I taught were each given a new pencil on the last week of teaching, and the delight they took in receiving such a simple tool was an image that will forever be impressed in my mind. We would pass houses each day comparable to the average American shed, filled with families laughing with each other and truly soaking in the joys of life.

When I reflect back to the people of Tanzania and their culture that started out so completely foreign to me, I am at peace. I am thankful for each moment and try my best to follow their lead in finding joy in little things. When I think back to Africa, I become lost; the stress in everyday life disappears and I feel an inexplicable sense of peace and joy for the blessings I have been given.

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Volunteering in Tanzania – “My Lasting Mental Oasis” by Colin Wallace

Colin Wallace, Giving of Self Reflection

Fragments of life rushed past me as I sat in the back of the bus that took us to and from work each day. The first day I began teaching English in a small primary school in Tanzania, I felt overwhelmed and insecure by the sheer unfamiliarity of my surroundings: the language, the people, the culture—everything was foreign. I stopped and asked myself what I was doing in a country halfway around the world where I couldn’t speak their language and I did not know a soul, and the only answer I could muster up was that I was pursuing my passion of service. However, I found by the end of my trip that my time spent amongst the Tanzanian culture created a lasting mental oasis for me that I am still able to draw from, sip out of its refreshing waters, and lose myself from reality.

The speed at which Americans move each day was modeled well upon my arrival in the JFK airport on my return home. It was when I was surrounded by this familiar buzz of stress in everyday life that I instantly began to reflect back on my life-changing experience in Tanzania to feel a sense of peace and perspective. This intense culture shock made me realize how valuable my experience in Tanzania was, and the ability I had to get lost in the moments I have collected in my memory.

I get lost in memories of the children I worked with at Himo and Korona primary schools, remembering their elation at the start of each day and the juxtaposition with their extreme lack of resources to pursue a future. I expected much sadness and grief when I went to Tanzania; rather, I saw a joy that was foreign to me. Back home in America, I had never seen such gratitude taken in such small things. The children I taught were each given a new pencil on the last week of teaching, and the delight they took in receiving such a simple tool was an image that will forever be impressed in my mind. We would pass houses each day comparable to the average American shed, filled with families laughing with each other and truly soaking in the joys of life.

When I reflect back to the people of Tanzania and their culture that started out so completely foreign to me, I am at peace. I am thankful for each moment and try my best to follow their lead in finding joy in little things. When I think back to Africa, I become lost; the stress in everyday life disappears and I feel an inexplicable sense of peace and joy for the blessings I have been given.

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Finding the Right Global Leadership Program: 4 Student Benefits

Volunteer or Vacation?

Not all summer student volunteer travel programs are created equally. There are some programs that seem to give students what they want: an official charitable volunteer activity and a summer vacation, all in one package. Amazingly, colleges are on to that. As Barmak Nassirian, associate executive director of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, was quoted in the New York Times, “We know the price of an air-conditioned hotel and a plane. It’s an act of affluent tourism masquerading as community service.”

Part of a Larger Pattern

Mr. Nassirian’s comment is not against vacationers, vacations or overseas travel. It’s not about programs that offer teens the opportunity to visit different cultures overseas with peers of their same approximate age and background. The admissions officer was objecting to students going on a vacation and attempting to pass it off as an act of community service. College admissions officers look for a long- term pattern of volunteerism or study, not a single trip the summer before one’s senior year in high school. A trip to China for a student who plans to major in international business and Asian studies makes perfect sense academically. It’s only fitting for a junior in high school who volunteers biweekly in the local hospital’s pediatric ward and plans to major in nursing or medicine to visit Ghana on a community health program. For a student who wants to be an ESL teacher in the United States, it makes perfect sense to embark on an extended language immersion program for Spanish.

Finding the Right Global Leadership Program

These are some of the reasons why it’s imperative to find the right global leadership program and ensure that it meets your needs academically, vocationally and personally. There are many benefits to travel and taking the opportunity to experience other cultures. Finding an organization that recognizes the different needs you’re trying to meet by going on an overseas program and has the experience to help you learn aspect of leadership and multiculturalism is the first step in the journey.

The Leadership Benefits of Volunteer Trips

Sometimes, you have to move outside of your comfort zone to begin to realize your real strengths and weaknesses. When you’re able to do practice leadership activities under the supervision of trained counselors in real-world situations, you learn that you can fail and still persist. You learn how to re-evaluate and retry.

The Language Benefits of Journeys Abroad

If you have the opportunity to travel in a country that speaks a language that you’ve studied as a “foreign” language back in the State, you have hundreds of chances every day to gain degrees of fluency. If you’re visiting a nation to which you’ll probably never return, you still have lessons to learn: of humility, trust and empathy the next time you see someone struggle with English when you return home.

The Personal Benefits of Travel

If begun with an open mind, encountering different cultures, languages, foods, religions and customs can open your eyes to different aspects of your own personality. Even as your eyes look outward onto different vistas, you can explore your inner beliefs, feasr, courage and curiosity.

Seek out Global Leadership opportunities and contact us today to learn more.

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My Fundraising Experience – Thailand 2012

Erin Bryk, Thailand 2012 – Fundraising Reflection:

Last year, I made a checklist of everything I wanted to do before I graduate high school. On the checklist was “explore a new culture”.  This one gnawed at me in particular, because I knew if I wanted to accomplish it, I would have to be proactive.  Fundraising can be a lot of work, but if definitely worth it! Throughout the year, I fund raised the tuition for a service trip to Thailand. I looked at the list of fundraising ideas from GLA to get started.

I decided utilized my artistic abilities for the fundraising, and created a fundraiser in which businesses, family, and friends could pre-ordered photos I would take in Thailand. I created the information sheet and order form, and sent them out in March. My friends and family responded quickly with donations. But slowly, the donations started to come in from businesses. I could tell they were hesitant, so I contacted to the businesses to “add a person” to the name. When I reached my half way goal, I was so excited. I began to feel the reality of it all. And in the end, I was able to raise almost all of my tuition. This was more than I ever thought I would raise from just one fundraiser. It was confident building and I learned a lot of organizational skills from it.

If you have any questions about the fundraiser I did, send me a message and we can talk about it. I’ll be more than happy to send you my order form so you can get some inspiration for yours!

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