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Study Abroad
Why Study Abroad?
High school is a pivotal time in a young adult’s life. There are countless monumentally big, life-changing questions being thrown at you — and you’re expected to have all the answers. Where should you go to college? What major should you choose? What’s your passion or your calling in life?
Foreign high school programs can empower you to increase your self-awareness and push yourself beyond your limitations. While studying abroad may not answer all of life’s daunting questions, you’ll return with a better understanding of who you are and how you see yourself contributing to the world. You might be surprised by just how much you can grow in such a short span of time when you dare to move beyond your comfort zone.
In the grand scheme, study abroad programs help build a foundation for cultural competency, which includes understanding global diversity. That way, high school students can learn the transferable skill of connecting through differences — whether in a foreign country or right on their future college campus.
Foreign high school programs can empower you to increase your self-awareness and push yourself beyond your limitations. While studying abroad may not answer all of life’s daunting questions, you’ll return with a better understanding of who you are and how you see yourself contributing to the world. You might be surprised by just how much you can grow in such a short span of time when you dare to move beyond your comfort zone.
In the grand scheme, study abroad programs help build a foundation for cultural competency, which includes understanding global diversity. That way, high school students can learn the transferable skill of connecting through differences — whether in a foreign country or right on their future college campus.
Top Five Benefits of High School Travel
Why are international experiences so beneficial for high school students? Nothing breaks a person from their own limited perspective like experiencing another culture, language and lifestyle. When your classroom is the world, you’ll learn more than you ever could studying within just four walls. Plus, you’ll have the adventure of a lifetime along the way.
HERE'S A LOOK AT THE TOP FIVE BENEFITS OF A HIGH SCHOOL EXCHANGE PROGRAM.
A high school study abroad program can open your eyes to the benefits of community, leadership, and service around the world. It’s also a great opportunity to apply what you’ve learned in the classroom to the real world. An exchange program should always have a community connection, so you can immerse yourself in a brand new culture and learn from those who are different than you.
High school students who study abroad should also do some service learning while visiting a new country. Instead of simply hitting the tourist spots, remember that service learning will give you a chance to live and work with the community and make a difference around the world.
High school students who study abroad should also do some service learning while visiting a new country. Instead of simply hitting the tourist spots, remember that service learning will give you a chance to live and work with the community and make a difference around the world.
One of the greatest gifts that travel offers is the opportunity to witness other ways of doing things. Perhaps you’ve fallen victim to the common mentality of “This is what I’ve always seen — so this is the way it is done.”
This experience will prepare you to successfully enter a diverse college campus or workforce while helping you to form valuable relationships in places all over the world.
This experience will prepare you to successfully enter a diverse college campus or workforce while helping you to form valuable relationships in places all over the world.
When you choose a study abroad program that requires you create a portfolio, journal, video, blog, or other project, you can use your creation for upcoming college applications. College admissions counselors love to see students who have traveled the world and have a broader view than just their home country. Showing your portfolio or journal can demonstrate that you value other cultures and that you’re comfortable being a little shaken up from the norm.
The right exchange program can also prepare you for your future career. Do you want to study physics in the future? Choose a study abroad program that gives you real-world experience that you can talk about in your journal or blog. Are you interested in STEM? Choose an experiential learning trip to South America and help install solar panels on homes without electricity. If you want to work in the medical field, you could travel to a developing country and provide medical care. Doing so will help prepare you for your future career and show a college that you’re committed to your field.
The right exchange program can also prepare you for your future career. Do you want to study physics in the future? Choose a study abroad program that gives you real-world experience that you can talk about in your journal or blog. Are you interested in STEM? Choose an experiential learning trip to South America and help install solar panels on homes without electricity. If you want to work in the medical field, you could travel to a developing country and provide medical care. Doing so will help prepare you for your future career and show a college that you’re committed to your field.
Isn’t it ironic that experiencing the breadth and width of the world can make you realize how small it actually is? Traveling connects you to people and places that would otherwise be as real as fantasy novels existing only in the imagination.
Once you’ve gone on a mile-long trek to get clean drinking water for a home in remote Central America, the world starts to shrink and become intimately connected. You’ll become a true global citizen who cares about international current events, whether it’s fundraising for victims of a natural disaster or becoming an advocate for social change in a foreign political catastrophe. These issues might sound distant on the news — but once you’ve connected with the world, you’ll know that your responsibility reaches further than just the places you can see.
Once you’ve gone on a mile-long trek to get clean drinking water for a home in remote Central America, the world starts to shrink and become intimately connected. You’ll become a true global citizen who cares about international current events, whether it’s fundraising for victims of a natural disaster or becoming an advocate for social change in a foreign political catastrophe. These issues might sound distant on the news — but once you’ve connected with the world, you’ll know that your responsibility reaches further than just the places you can see.
Getting outside your comfort zone is no small challenge. It takes a lot of confidence, after all, to participate in a homestay with a family who doesn’t have the electricity you’re used to — or even speak the same language. But there’s rich value in being uncomfortable, adapting to new situations, and seeing a commonality beyond the differences.
Connecting with people different than yourself can be a wonderful taste test of college — and the real world. You’ll encounter and work alongside people with completely different worldviews, ideals, values, and perspectives. Immersing yourself in a new culture is the best practice you could have for your upcoming entry into a diverse college or workplace.
Connecting with people different than yourself can be a wonderful taste test of college — and the real world. You’ll encounter and work alongside people with completely different worldviews, ideals, values, and perspectives. Immersing yourself in a new culture is the best practice you could have for your upcoming entry into a diverse college or workplace.
Discover World!
Discover the World and Your Place
At Happy Academy, we encourage every high school student to challenge their views and build confidence in a dynamic, supportive environment located in San Jose, California.
Happy Academy offers an innovative approach to learning, including college preparation, college counseling programs, and experimental and travel-based opportunities. For three weeks each May, freshmen, sophomores, and juniors participate in one of the learnings Next Term courses. In each credited course, students explore real-world topics through problem–based, interdisciplinary learning that includes local, domestic, or international travel.
Studying abroad at Happy Academy equips high school students with real-world experiences, helping them succeed in college and create a more inclusive and compassionate world.
Ready to start your journey at Happy Academy? We invite you to fill out our inquiry form and come visit our beautiful campus. Request more information about life at the Happy Academy.
Happy Academy offers an innovative approach to learning, including college preparation, college counseling programs, and experimental and travel-based opportunities. For three weeks each May, freshmen, sophomores, and juniors participate in one of the learnings Next Term courses. In each credited course, students explore real-world topics through problem–based, interdisciplinary learning that includes local, domestic, or international travel.
Studying abroad at Happy Academy equips high school students with real-world experiences, helping them succeed in college and create a more inclusive and compassionate world.
Ready to start your journey at Happy Academy? We invite you to fill out our inquiry form and come visit our beautiful campus. Request more information about life at the Happy Academy.
