Three diverse students on campus bench talking, three people chat in background

Top Summer Programs for Students With a Global Mindset

If you're interested in exploring the world and making it a better place, a summer program focusing on global experiences could be just the thing for you.

Sometimes students are limited by the perspectives they grew up with. Before attending college, however, it's beneficial to expand your viewpoints. Oftentimes knowing how to do this is half the battle, although the opportunities seem to be endless. Summer programs with a global focus are one way to explore different cultures, help make the world a better place, and learn as you travel. Personally, I have participated in two programs: Yale Young Global Scholars and National Security Language Initiative for Youth.

Yale Young Global Scholars

With the Yale Young Global Scholars (YYGS) program, I was able to travel to New Haven, Connecticut, to spend two weeks on the Yale University campus and reside in the Jonathan Edwards dorms. While at Yale, I was able to complete programs focusing on subjects that appealed to me, such as hydraulic fracturing, climate change, AIDS research, and urban architecture. While my session focused primarily on science and policy, the program has two other sessions available—politics, law, and economics as well as international affairs and security (in addition to science, policy, and innovation).

Participating in the YYGS program allowed me to expand my horizons. I was able to create lifelong friendships with students from across the globe. Now I have friends who live in Mexico, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russia, Sweden, Uganda, Nigeria, and many, many more places. Even after our short time together, I still feel I have been enriched by our cultural exchange.

Related: 4 Ways You Bring Culture and Diversity to Your College 

National Security Language Initiative for Youth

The National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI­-Y) is supported by the US Department of State. It offers students in the United States the opportunity to spend a summer or academic term abroad living in a variety of locations around the world, including China, India, Taiwan, Morocco, Turkey, and Oman, to name a few. Students are given merit­-based scholarships to learn less-commonly taught languages all while being exposed to a unique culture.

Programs for non-US residents

The US Department of State also supports non­–US residents in their pursuit of international dialogue. Through the Youth Exchange & Study (YES) program, international students are given the opportunity to spend an academic year in the United States and its high schools. This is not to be confused with its US counterpart, YES Abroad.

Related: Study Abroad and Make the World a Part of You 

While these are only a few of the multitude of opportunities that exist, they are certainly some of my most memorable. These programs have enriched me as a scholar, a person, and most importantly, a global citizen. I feel these summer programs are ideal for students wishing to expound upon themselves and escape their comfort zone to experience the unfamiliar, the extraordinary. These programs have strengthened me, and I know they will strengthen many, many others.

Find schools with great summer programs and study abroad opportunities using our College Search tool.

Like what you’re reading?

Join the CollegeXpress community! Create a free account and we’ll notify you about new articles, scholarship deadlines, and more.

Join Now

Tags:

About Michael Tyler Kee

Tyler attends the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, where he majors in Geology and minors in Physics. An award-winning scientific writer and researcher, Tyler has experience both as a transfer student and as a student studying abroad. Besides his passion for writing and scientific inquiry, Michael enjoys traveling, hiking, swimming, and spending time with his family and friends. You can follow him on Twitter @TyTheScienceGuy.

 

Join our community of
over 5 million students!

CollegeXpress has everything you need to simplify your college search, get connected to schools, and find your perfect fit.

Join CollegeXpress

College Quick Connect

Swipe right to request information.
Swipe left if you're not interested.

Rochester Institute of Technology

Rochester, NY


Elizabeth Stafford

Elizabeth Stafford

High School Class of 2021

As a UK student moving to California due to my dad's job in the military, when I first signed up for CollegeXpress a few months ago, the college process ahead seemed daunting and incredibly stressful. That all changed after I started to explore what this website had to offer. Not only was I helped by the vast array of resources available to me, but through being a CollegeXpress member, there have been so many more benefits. There have been emails with college tips—all of which I found incredibly helpful—as well as invitations to events and notifications of scholarships that'll make college possible for me. Overall, I'm very grateful to CollegeXpress for all of these things and more. Not only have they helped me grow my understanding of the college process, but they've also helped me to grow as a person, giving me new skills that I can take with me through life.

Tariq Adam Khatib

Tariq Adam Khatib

High School Class of 2022

CollegeXpress helped me a lot. I am a Tanzania boy who finished my high school studies in Tanzania. I never knew I could get an opportunity to get a scholarship to study abroad. I am happy that now I know how to find the school to study abroad through CollegeXpress.

Nikole Dixon

Nikole Dixon

$500 Refer-a-Friend Scholarship Winner

Toward the beginning of last year, I was searching for scholarships to apply to through my school, town, websites online, and anything else I could find. I asked tons of questions [online] about scholarships and the best places to find them because I was desperate and needed as many as I could find. I came across a ton of bogus websites, but as soon as I found CollegeXpress, I knew I had to tell other people about it. It was definitely the most helpful site I came across, so I told my friends about it. CollegeXpress is definitely a website worth giving as a source.

Rhiannon Teeter

Rhiannon Teeter

$2,000 Community Service Scholarship Winner, 2012

I have spent a lot of time aggressively searching for scholarships. It was a long and frustrating process until I found the CollegeXpress network. This site made my search so much easier. With the simple check of a few boxes, the site sorted out scholarships I was eligible for and led me directly to the correct websites. Winning this scholarship has definitely given me and my family some financial relief, and CollegeXpress has allowed me to improve my chances of winning further financial aid. Thank you so much!

Josiah Kegg

Josiah Kegg

High School Class of 2021

I want to sincerely thank you all for this amazing website that's legitimately helped me find so many different scholarship opportunities. I've been stressing out for the longest time about paying for college since I would rather stay out of debt and have been working days trying to find any scholarship opportunity. When I found CollegeXpress, I discovered many easy scholarships that have given me hope for the future. Thank you and God bless!