Recent College Grads Come Out With Fresh Perspective On Study Abroad Programs

Global Student Experience continue to spread their message that "study abroad programs can be better."

(PRWEB) October 5, 2005 -- When David Diamond, Travis Carruthers, and James Kowal, the three directors of the study abroad program Global Student Experience, studied abroad during their junior year of college something happened which forever changed the course of the young men's' lives. What began as a typical trip to Spain to study Spanish language and culture quickly became a realization that something needed to be changed within the study abroad industry.

"As soon as we arrived in Barcelona we fell in love. The culture, people, and way of life of the Barcelona took hold of us immediately" Diamond said. "We loved everything about Spain, but as far as our program, that was an entirely different story."

study abroad programs can be better.

As soon as we arrived in Barcelona we fell in love. The culture, people, and way of life of the Barcelona took hold of us immediately

We loved everything about Spain, but as far as our program, that was an entirely different story.

We felt like the program was too artificial, too much like a tourist trap that was keeping us and the other students from experiencing and integrating into the youth culture of the city.

The biggest problem was the Onsite Directors.

They were more like chaperones than our peers

They would take us to all the tourist attractions, but they never showed us what local students did and where they congregated.

We finally were able to really get into the student culture, but many of our classmates were not able to do this and ended up only hanging out with Americans

We basically felt like we were missing out on what could have been a much better experience as a result of the shortcomings of our program

We knew we were young, but we also saw that we were in the best position of anyone to improve on the study abroad field. I mean who knows better than students what students want to get out of their study abroad experience

All of our Onsite Directors are very close in age to our students. They are young, responsible, and engaging people who are much better suited to meeting the needs of college students than any of the older directors of other programs

Our directors show our students all the tourist sites around the city, but more importantly they also show students where local students socialize and what they do in their free time.

This experience changed my life. I really appreciate all the hard work that was done to make it happen. I think it's awesome that [the directors got everything done so efficiently and I will definitely recommend the program to all my friends.

study abroad can be better

The three described the Onsite Directors as being much older and out of touch with what students wanted to see and do. "They were more like chaperones than our peers," said Carruthers. "They would take us to all the tourist attractions, but they never showed us what local students did and where they congregated."

Luckily the three students were able to get connected in the local student scene through a network of Spanish and international students they befriended. "We finally were able to really get into the student culture, but many of our classmates were not able to do this and ended up only hanging out with Americans," Diamond stated.

Another major problem with their program was the housing. Their program provided dormitory-style, off-campus housing in small shared rooms. The housing was far away from campus, and lacking in basic amenities such as a kitchen, living room, and laundry facilities. To make matters worse, the housing had strict curfews and rules against having guests over. "We basically felt like we were missing out on what could have been a much better experience as a result of the shortcomings of our program," Carruthers said.

Before their program had finished the three had already developed a plan to start their own program, improving on the areas they had found lacking on their program. "We knew we were young, but we also saw that we were in the best position of anyone to improve on the study abroad field. I mean who knows better than students what students want to get out of their study abroad experience," said Diamond

Determined to start a program with authenticity as its main goal, the three got to work immediately and within several months they had formed Global Student Experience (GSE) with their office based out of Newport Beach California. To ensure that their students would truly be introduced to the youth culture of their destinations they made sure that all of their Onsite Directors were in their early twenties. "All of our Onsite Directors are very close in age to our students. They are young, responsible, and engaging people who are much better suited to meeting the needs of college students than any of the older directors of other programs," Kowal commented. "Our directors show our students all the tourist sites around the city, but more importantly they also show students where local students socialize and what they do in their free time."

The young entrepreneurs also improved on the housing for their students. All GSE students are housed in shared apartments, centrally located within short distance of their host university. GSE programs also include metro passes, cell phones, health insurance, and exciting excursions to places like Pamplona for the "Running of the Bulls" and the Mediterranean island of Mallorca.

Since its inception more than two years ago, Global Student Experience has been greeted with remarkable success. For instance, in one survey a student commented, "This experience changed my life. I really appreciate all the hard work that was done to make it happen. I think it's awesome that [the directors got everything done so efficiently and I will definitely recommend the program to all my friends."

After the first program in Barcelona was met with tremendous success and satisfaction on the part of the students, GSE expanded to offer summer, quarter, semester, and academic year study abroad programs in Barcelona, Spain, Florence, Italy, Paris, France, and London, England.

Motivated by their success, the founders of Global Student Experience continue to spread their message that "study abroad can be better" to college and university students nationwide. Currently, GSE is touring the United States, with visits to over 150 major college and university campuses to promote their programs to students looking for a better option for study abroad.

More information available at http://www.gseabroad.com

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