The Center for Global Education (CGE) understands that parents, guardians, and families play a critical role in their student’s international experience. We recognize that engaging families as partners can help us in ensuring the experience is as powerful and rewarding as possible. While fully recognizing that our students are adults, we view parents/guardians as collaborators in the preparation of our students. Know that your support and ongoing communication with your student, both before and during their program, can be an instrumental part of their success.
Why Students Should Go Abroad
- They will have to manage money, coursework, and time more effectively than they’ve ever had to before, and often in a busy environment. This can lead to dramatic improvement in these skills when back home.
- They will create a whole new social network in the new country — something that requires great communication skills in general, not to mention in a foreign language. Strong communication skills are essential in most jobs, so having them makes people that much more employable.
- Managing culture shock demands patience, tolerance, a sense of humor, and the ability to press on despite failure. All of these make for a more mature, more confident post-study abroad individual. These traits will be evident in their dealings with other people, especially potential employers and colleagues.
- Relations between the U.S. and all other countries of the world rely on knowledgeable people who can speak from the perspective of having lived abroad. Prejudice and ignorance are some of the biggest problems standing in the way of a better understanding between two countries’ peoples, and you will be a force for breaking down this barrier.
Read more at the U.S. Department of State Information for Parents.
