Dear Border Crossing Friend
Students today want mobility in more ways than one. They want economic, social, cultural, and vocational mobility. This is why some people study abroad and perhaps that is why you studied abroad. You wanted to cross certain borders that were both visible and invisible. You wanted more than what was right in front of you.
And this is where people like me need your help.
Some students want to cross borders, like you did, but they need help. Now, I don't mean financial, but that may have crossed your mind. And no, I don't mean an address of an international friend, nor do I mean a sneak peek at your photo album. Some students need people like you to shine a light on a path that leads from their study abroad experience in to their first job or career or family.
If you remember coming home, then you remember what it was like to have some people fascinated with your stories and some people who could care less. You may still struggle with finding the words to describe your own experience, but if you are in a job you like and if you can connect your current work in some way to lessons you learned while studying in another country, then some students need your expertise.
Some students need you to be signposts and streetlights on the path toward an expanding worldview. Some students need you to be guides and sherpas on their climb from one mountaintop experience to the valley of learning, the pit of humble beginnings, and back to the peak of new heights. Some students need you to be consultants and counselors on the journey toward unpacking the memories still being carried from the days of being immersed in something new.
If you're willing to step out so that students can learn to take a stand, then here are three action steps that can truly make a difference:
- If you're in the Chicago area and an Illinois alumnus who has studied abroad, I can pair you with some students who want light for their path before they get on that lifechanging flight. Comment on this post and I'll contact you.
- If you are willing to send a quote of encouragement, we'll post them on twitter and send them to students so that their tool kit grows
- If you are interested in coaching students who have already studied abroad, who are seeking wisdom for what's next, then comment here and again, I'll connect you to students hungry to make sense of a brave new world.
You know the impact of crossing various borders and you know that mobility isn't something that can be taken lightly or for granted. You know someone could use your help and you know that after studying in another country, your view of things changed.
You know that a student, somewhere, can use your help.
You know that someone like you once helped a much younger version of you and it made all the difference.
Thanks for reading and thanks for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Your fellow pilgrim (who studied in England and in Asia in 1992)
