Supporting Students to Study Abroad in High School

When I was 17, I learned about a scholarship to spend the summer in Okinawa, Japan. I had never left the United States before, but I dreamed of changing that, so I wrote some essays and a few months later was on a plane to the other side of the world.

During my six weeks there, I struggled. I looked up every word I wanted to say in my tiny travel dictionary. I constantly got lost trying to navigate my neighborhood and public transportation. I missed my family, whom I was only able to call and email once a week. I once drank a cup of soy sauce because I mistook it for tea. I counted down the days until I could return home, believing that studying abroad was a failed experiment for me.

But then, on the ride back from the airport in Houston, I realized that I was looking at my home with new eyes. I understood better what it must have been like for my friends and neighbors who had left their countries to move to this one. I knew that when I again found myself in a challenging situation, I had the resources to figure it out. I had considered studying abroad to be an experience that I could acquire, like a fashionable accessory, but instead, it changed me. It made me more curious, more resilient, more empathetic, more resourceful.

Over the next few years, I grasped for any other study abroad experience that I could manage: to Mexico, the Czech Republic, Canada, Germany, and India, almost all funded with some financial support from institutions with the mission of intercultural exchange.

Early in my career as a teacher, I began working with my own students to find similar opportunities for them. It started casually, mentioning to my classes that studying abroad in high school was a powerful experience for me, and then suggesting some programs they could explore if they were interested. Eventually, I proposed to my principal that we formalize our school’s commitment to supporting students to travel abroad, and I took on the role of study abroad coordinator. Here are some of the steps that we took to build a program that, over the past decade, has helped over 100 students study abroad with more than $300,000 in scholarships.

Find Mission-Driven Organizations that Offer Financial Support

Our study abroad program prioritizes partnerships with organizations that take student safety seriously, focus on meaningful learning (not just photo ops and vacation vibes), and demonstrate a commitment to responsible travel and ethical interaction with the communities that they bring students to.

The Council for International Educational Exchange offers millions of dollars in funding each year. Their programs last three to four weeks over the summer and focus on language development, leadership and service, or site-specific subjects, like marine biology in Portugal or K-pop in South Korea. Their programs are taught by local teachers but chaperoned by U.S. educators (including classroom teachers, who can apply for the position).

Amigos de las Américas is a long-running nonprofit organization that sends students to rural Latin America to learn and serve. The experience can be intense—I equate it to the Peace Corps—but it’s deeply transformative. Scholarship support is available both at a local chapter level and nationally, and students are also guided in fundraising in their local communities.

Rotary is an international service organization that runs one of the largest exchange programs for high school students. Rotarians abroad open their homes to host students, who attend school in the community. Because their Youth Exchange program is run by volunteers, the costs to participate are lower even than those for equivalent nonprofit programs. They offer a summer reciprocal exchange, in which a student goes to another country to live for several weeks before welcoming their host sibling back to their home in the United States, as well as a yearlong program, which our students often do as a gap year before college.

The U.S. government funds a number of programs for students to study abroad. The National Security Language Initiative for Youth sends students on summer and yearlong programs to countries where languages of strategic importance are spoken, and students spend their time doing intensive language study. The Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange supports students in a yearlong program in Germany. Both programs are merit-based, making them a good option for students who might need financial support but don’t qualify.

Education First offers educational itineraries in which students, parents, and teachers can travel together, with a focus on experiential learning. Their Global Citizen Scholarship is an annual fund to provide students with financial assistance. Through a partnership with the Nobel Prize Museum, they offer a specialized scholarship to bring students to Sweden from around the world.

Build a Culture of Studying Abroad

Once students began to return from their study abroad experiences, our program grew exponentially. Students were excited to share about what they had learned and how they had changed, and their enthusiasm spurred their peers to apply. There are several ways we try to keep our study abroad initiative sustainable and meaningful.

Once students have decided to pursue study abroad, I encourage them to apply to multiple scholarship programs as early as possible. Since this happens before most of our students start applying to colleges, they need support throughout the scholarship application process—developing their essays, navigating online portals, and asking for letters of recommendation. I host application workshops in my classroom, remind students of deadlines, and regularly check in with them.

Once a year, we host a Study Abroad Scholarship Night, featuring the different organizations that we partner with, along with student alumni from those programs. It’s a great way to provide answers to parents and caregivers who may be hesitant about having their teenagers study abroad.

There is sometimes the belief that studying abroad equates to a vacation or that there is nothing that can’t be learned on a screen, so we emphasize how it helps young people to develop durable skills, including cultural competency and language ability, as well as character growth.

According to some estimates, only 2 percent of high school students will study abroad. But I feel confident that the positive impact of study abroad reaches far beyond those who directly participate in it. Students who have studied abroad through our programs often choose to return to their host countries for college or work. I often reflect on how fortunate I was to be able to experience life in Japan decades ago, and I know that the students who study abroad will likewise feel compelled to cultivate a kinder and more inclusive world.