The Young Leader

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The Facebook Group that will Make your Summer

Busted…we’re biased. We think Global Leadership Adventures is the single greatest way a high school student can spend their summer break. But you know who else thinks so? The students who’ve  participated in our programs.

Join a GLA Country Facebook group now and get a fresh, unbiased perspective.  Hundreds of student alumni are sharing their experiences and are waiting to answer your questions.

There’s no better way to get the straight story. Talk directly with participants to find out:

  • Was the food good? What if I’m vegan?

  • How many guys are on the programs?

  • Were you able to fundraise for your tuition?

  • Which destination is better for learning Spanish – Costa Rica or Guatemala?

  • How were the counselors?

Several programs have their own GLA Facebook group, and we invite you to crash them all:

This simple move could set you up for the summer of your life…happy chatting!

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3 Myths: College Applications & Summer Programs

Having interviewed candidates for Yale, my alma mater, I’m often asked by parents and students how Global Leadership Adventures can enhance a college application.  My standard response is to quote the Yale website: “Yalies set out to make our world better…We are looking for students…to become the leaders of their generation in whatever they wish to pursue.”

Great, but what in the world does that mean?!  How do high school students become leaders and make the world better?  Every year, parents and students misinterpret what colleges are looking for and invest time and energy into misguided pursuits.

While I don’t claim to know everything that happens in the admissions office, I’d like to dispel what I believe are three myths about college applications and summer programs.

Myth 1: Volunteering abroad helps you get into a good college

Simply volunteering abroad will not help you get into a good college.  Rather, it’s what you learn that can make a difference.  On a GLA program, you will volunteer in a developing country and experience a culture and lifestyle very different from your own in an authentic, non-touristy community.   In that environment, GLA teaches you to reflect on your experience:  How is this country different from yours?  How can you connect your knowledge and talents to those in need?  Where can your passion lead you?  This level of experience and reflection helps you unlock your passions and generate plenty of talking points for college essays.  That’s what colleges look for in a successful applicant.

Myth 2: Colleges define “leadership” as Student Council President, School Paper Editor, etc.

True, leadership is a key characteristic of the strongest applicants to top universities.  But it’s not just about accumulating a laundry list of titles.  It’s also about your level of maturity, the types of challenges you’ve faced, and a sustained commitment to helping others.  GLA believes leaders are made, not born.  Through group discussion, meaningful service, workshops, exposure to experts, and excursions, GLA students cultivate their leadership potential.  They  tackle tough questions, learn to welcome differing opinions, and  begin affecting change within themselves their communities, and the world.  That’s how colleges define leadership.

Myth 3: A so-so GPA or less-than-stellar SAT score will prevent you from getting into a good university.

Got some bad grades freshman year? Your GPA not quite where you want it to be?  Don’t worry, all hope is not lost!  There’s still time to turn things around.  Colleges absolutely do look at academic achievement.  However, they also want to see passion and a common thread that weaves throughout your application.  My college roommate at Yale had a so-so GPA, but was admitted for his non-academic achievements.

Do you like biology and animals?  Pursue that passion during the summer, whether it’s volunteering abroad to protect endangered species, starting an animal rights organization at school, or taking an advanced biology class at a local college.  That’s a concrete step towards turning it around.

I hope you found these insights useful and I welcome your feedback, anytime!

Sincerely, Mike Shangkuan

Managing Director – Global Leadership Adventures

About the author:  Mike Shangkuan graduated from Yale with a BA in Economics and received his MBA from the Harvard Business School.  He is currently Managing Director of Global Leadership Adventures.

 

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4 Great Ways to Preserve Your Volunteer Abroad Experience

The Best Ways To Keep A Journal While Volunteering Abroad

Your friends aren’t going to believe you when you tell them you hiked the base of a volcano, rode elephants through the rainforest and helped improve sanitation for a rural African community. They’re not going to believe you, which is why you need proof.

Before you embark on your GLA service learning adventure, prepare to document the amazingness with these four tips. In addition to backing up the mind-blowing tales you’ll have to tell, you’ll also create keepsakes to keep your adventures fresh.

Photo Journaling

Your friends want proof? Show them the pictures! You know you enjoy cyber stalking your Facebook, Twitter and Instagram friends when they post pics of their travels. Now you can be the stalkee when you share your trip highlights through photo journaling. As you venture through bazaars, mountains and local villages use these tips to create a top-notch photo journal:

  • Make those clicks count. Before you capture a photo, make sure it’s something significant. That way, as you sort through your photos, it will be easier to choose the ones you want to share.
  • Though your favorite photo apps give you lots of room to play, sometimes simple is better. Decide if the amazing landscapes in front of you really need filtering or if it would be better to share them in their raw form.

Journaling

When you volunteer abroad, you’re bound to experience an array of emotions as you engage with people from other corners of the world. Document your thoughts and feelings each day with a Journal.

  • Try journaling first thing in the morning. Jot down your thoughts as you approach the day. You can write about your itinerary – the sights, sounds and smells that you’re anticipating.
  • Close the day with a journal entry. Write down what “really” happened. Was it what you expected? What did you see? Who did you meet?

Blogging

Blogging is like a journal that you share. Keep a live blog to share trip highlights, or wait and make an “after-the-trip” entry when you get back. You’ll find that volunteering abroad offers valuable insights. As you learn and grow on your trip, think about what kind of wisdom and experiences to share with your online community.

  • Blog “notable quotes” that you may hear from fellow travelers or the locals that you meet
  • Make your blog posts easy to read. Don’t share everything. Just include the highlights.

Scrapbooking

Scrapbooking is a great way for you to get creative and highlight your favorite trip moments. You can peruse blogs and social networking for great tips to make a travel book to remember. Here are few tips to get you started:

  • Play with fun layouts. Visit Pinterest to get great ideas to create a unique mashup of travel photos.
  • Do a collage of day and night photos. Capture your favorite service trip locations during the day and again at night. Then feature the day-to-night contrast in your scrapbook.
  • Use one picture to tell a significant story. Take your time to capture a great moment and then use an entire page of your scrapbook to highlight the picture and tell the story.

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When Have You Been Brave?

Do you remember the last time you were brave? Was it as recently as yesterday? Has it been a long time? Did you think you couldn’t do it? Do you still have the pictures?

The Young Leaders below – just like you – pushed themselves to the limit and lived to tell the tale. I invite you to take a peek inside their adventures from as far away as West Africa, as recently as last summer:

Jayvee Salunga, Dominican Republic, Summer 2012

“Helmet. Check. Life vest. Check. Twenty minute mini hike. Then our first jump. Jump.Time seems to stop while you float in the air. Until………spshhhhhhh, your whole body becomes submerged under water. The teal colored water is refreshingly cold. Second jump. The high jump we had. 30 feet they said? It was high. That’s all you need to know. And I loved the thrill. Sliding was fun too! In between jumps and slides you swim or walk to the next. Along the way you see the threes, the sun, the rock formations. The nature. It was beautiful.”

Tamar Willis, Ghana, Summer 2012

“We saw [a slave fort] in Keta, just 20 minutes from Anloga, built by the Danes in the 18th century…Seeing the cramped living quarters — hundreds, sometimes thousands of slaves were kept in a room smaller than Shalhevet’s Bet Midrash – left us unnerved. The Ghanaians never seemed to resent us for what our ancestors had done. They still welcomed us warmly. But in spite of the bright sunlight and lively conversation, the forts made us uncomfortable.”

Veronica Gallilao, Costa Rica, Summer 2012

“Rain whipped my cheeks and the mingled smells of cows and wet soil filled my lungs as I bounced around the bed of a rickety old truck. The rotting wooden railing seemed less than capable of holding four teenagers in and hundreds of folding chairs threatened to topple onto us. My eyes stung and I had no idea where I was being taken, but bursts of delighted laughter spilled out of me as I looked all around me. To my left were crumbling shacks painted in vibrant faded pastels; to my right were miles of coffee plants and cow pastures in front of a backdrop of green-covered mountains. The drive over the pitted dirt road seemed ceaseless in the most phenomenal way. In those moments, I could not believe that I had never experienced such beauty, joy, excitement, and at the same time…peace.”

Bravery is one of the key attributes of a Young Leader. Whether it’s:

  •  Forcing yourself to speak Spanish with a native speaker, even if it comes out half wrong
  • Conquering your fear of heights to see the most amazing sunset of your life from the summit of a mountain
  • Volunteering for the first time in your life…7,000 miles from home

You have the stuff Young Leaders are made of. Hey, remember that time when you were brave?  That was a really good time.

 

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Prepping Your Application for College Admission

College Prep Tips for Perfecting Your High School Resume

From soccer game bruises to eternal study sessions to slushy-slinging bullies, high school can be intense. The cool news is that you can transform the intensity of your high school years into stuff that matters on a global scale. To do that you have to think of high school in terms of a resume.

As you engage in project partnerships, various academic clubs and sports, consider the experiences you’re collecting as resume highlights. This infographic offers tips for categorizing those experiences to build a solid high school resume. You’ll also find tips on how to match your HS resume highlights with the right college. You’ll even see how volunteering abroad can give you a foundation for future leadership.

So, yeah, the sports scrapes and the pop quizzes aren’t soft and cuddly. But they may just help you build a perspective that will inspire your community and your world to make positive changes. And that’s definitely a good payoff.

Prepping Your Application for College AdmissionGraphic brought to you by Experience GLA.


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