In The News

Isabella Brammer has always advocated for educating herself and others about our diverse world every day. When a unique opportunity arose to do just that, she of course took it.

17 American high school students received an audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama at his official residence this morning. During their meeting, His Holiness blessed the students, and laid emphasis on the importance of “oneness of humanity.” Drawing their attention on his principal commitments, His Holiness spoke on the cultivation of warm-heartedness and human values, which are necessitated in living a peaceful and meaningful life.

After visiting all 50 US states to talk to people about racial literacy, Winona Guo and Priya Vulchi expected to hear personal stories of race, culture and intersectionality; what they weren't expecting was how their unique upbringing influenced the experience. Guo and Vulchi outline the very personal challenges they faced and how they overcame them.

"Dave," often known as the voice of The Experiment in International Living — now World Learning — passed away on March 11, 2019. He was "the voice" not only because of his beautiful bass tone which needed no microphone, but also because David spoke to thousands of donors during his long tenure as Director of Development.

Are you looking to give your child a once-in-a-lifetime experience? The Experiment in International Living offers a unique, life-affirming experience to high-school students through their carefully crafted travel packages to Argentina and Mongolia. Students can select from a range of activities in either Argentina or Mongolia.

North Chicago senior Scholar Jeremias Figueroa had the opportunity to do a summer program in South Africa this past summer. Below is a personal reflection of his six-week experience.

Cultural immersion experiences are a springboard to learning and leadership

Professional exchange programs can have immediate results, even on issues as complex as international crime.

Graduating senior Chad Bernard reflects on his time at Twin Valley High School and looks forward to new challenges ahead.

A trip to India last summer sparked a passion in Isabella Nuñez that she shared with her whole school. "We stayed in a small village in India, and they re-use apricot pits there that are being thrown away to make them into soap and body lotion," she said. "The idea of using something that is wasted, I thought that was really cool."

Heather Beard, The Experiment in International Living's Director of Admissions explained, “With 30 students participating this summer, Monroe County has the highest number of students participating than any other county in the U.S., outside of the New York City metro area.”

Meet teenagers Priya Vulchi and Winona Guo (alumna of The Experiment) who collaborated with Princeton University on ‘The Classroom Index,’ a textbook devoted to racial literacy.

The Fellowship Initiative sponsored by JPMorgan Chase is a comprehensive mentoring and enrichment program that exposes young men of color to the skills, experiences, and knowledge they’ll need to compete globally. One hundred-twenty African American and Latino high school students from New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles (40 from each city) are currently participating.

Newtown resident Ethan Cox recently reflected on everything he learned while traveling to Tanzania with The Experiment in International Living program over the summer.

When Gayle Quisenberry arrived in Washington, D.C. in the early 1960s, she had already lived through a minor scandal: during her junior year at Goucher College, the Long Island native had moved to Lagos, Nigeria, under the auspices of the Experiment in International Living. As her daughter Leyla Sharabi tells TIME, “The whole social circle [her family] moved in—this was just not done. She was in the newspaper.”

Whether you're in your 60s, 70s, or 80s, you, too, can find a side gig or personal pursuit out there with your name on it. The amount of time you spend working — or even volunteering — might be concentrated into one season, like summer. Or it could be ongoing, but scaled back to once a week. You can even choose how much or how little you want to work or engage in what interests you.

The host of Key West with Jenna interviews The Experiment in International Living's Director of Admissions Heather Beard and a participant headed to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands this summer.

At 17, Gavin Willis has a lot going for him -- international travel, a spot on the Key West varsity lacrosse team and plenty of extracurricular activities. Free time, though, isn't on the list.

Last summer, Noah Kravitz and a group of other Experimenters glimpsed firsthand the life of Syrian refugees in Jordan. In this Channel One News report, Noah shares the impact of his visit to a refugee camp. Learn more: https://www.experiment.org/

The opportunity of a life-time: a chance for students to study abroad and bring those experiences back to their Chicago neighborhoods.

As a black kid growing up in Chicago, some opportunities tend to be more open to me than others. I find aspects of my life experience limited due to my identity, whether or not I recognize it at the time.

About 2 percent of college-bound U.S. high school students choose to do a gap year after high school graduation, says Fred Kaelin, a Mattituck high school alum and executive director of USA Gap Year Fairs, which organizes nationwide fairs where a variety of programs exhibit; see the schedule at usagapyearfairs.com. "Some students will combine a couple of experiences for their year. They might do a semester with Outward Bound and then do a travel program," Kaelin says.

While looking through a photo album of my Indian host mother’s wedding day, I learned that she was 17-years-old the day she was arranged to marry a 30-year-old man from another village whom she did not know. As a 17-year-old American girl, the fears that keep me awake at night are things like a robber coming into my house or an unknown person assaulting me on the street — events that could possibly happen in my future, but are fortunately not realities for me.

As we traveled through a slum in Delhi, India, a few of my American colleagues broke down in tears. I too was moved, but their shocked reaction took me by surprise because I see deprivation like this every day. Parts of Chicago and the slums of India are similar. As you walk through each community, you see despair in both. Violence and oppression is so regular within these communities that the citizens begin to believe it is the norm. Most people only have the will to survive rather than thrive. But in India I saw something I would have never thought was possible — I saw unity in poverty.