Looking for international experience? Volunteer!

One of my international re-applicant clients was told that his lack of overseas experience was a negative factor in his application last year. Like most of you, he is extremely busy with his job and is also watching his budget. We discussed several possibilities and both agreed that the best thing he could do to get meaningful international experience quickly was to volunteer. And I'm happy to say that's what he's doing. He found a short-term volunteer program through an organization called Global Volunteers that will be working with a local community in rural Appalachia, West Virginia in the United States. They are still looking to fill volunteer spaces for the program, which runs from September 12 to September 19. The local host is called the Southern Appalachian Labor School.

I'm not familiar with either of these organizations, but if this sounds interesting to you please check them out. And if they aren't for you, I'm sure you can find other volunteer opportunities that are.

My client is going to combine the volunteer trip with several campus visits, and I'm sure that anyone he meets will be duly impressed when they hear about the efforts he has made to expand his worldview and help others at the same time!