Up with People On Tour Gap Year Experience

Main reason why I joined UWP is to be comfortable with communicating in English.
After I traveled for a year with UWP, I went back to college and I realized my ability to communicate in English was more fluent than most of students who did study abroad program.

Here is why I think UWP is good place to learn English.
UWP is about understanding each other.
I never felt judged because of my English.
We never have English class like language school,
however, because of those amazing people from all over the world,
I was always so motivated to gain more English skill to communicate with my friend.
I just wanted to get know them and learn from them.
And I believe pure motivation and curiosity are the key to learn any skills.

Another reason why is the safe environment that this program create.
To achieve something, we all need experience failing.
People grow so much in UWP because they experience this cycle in such a supportive environment.

So, If anyone is looking for opportunities to learn English, I highly recommend this program!

My main question when planning my gap year was: how do I accomplish all the things I'm interested in... in just one year? Up with People was the only organization that combined so many of my passions and interests in one program!

The fact that I was able to travel each week to a different city gave me a true feeling of embarking on a world tour. And since I was surrounded by 100 people from 15-20 countries, it really felt like I was traveling around the world WITH the world.

The volunteering we did in each community provided a rich blend of experiences. Whether we were interacting with children whose only insight into the world outside of their home was our international presence in their classroom, or serving meals for the homeless and listening to their stories of hardship but also hope, or even providing the manual labor needed to clean/build/restore community areas... it was always a meaningful experience for all parties.

Music is another component that makes this program so unique, and the best way to bring the world together. I had no performing arts experience prior to traveling with Up with People, but the life skills I learned from standing on stage and projecting to audiences of 1000+ each week, combined with the feeling of togetherness that comes with performing with 100 young people from around the world, made this an invaluable experience.

But the most life-changing part of this program that can't be explained until you experience it, is the personal development component. Each day on tour, Up with People's experiential learning curriculum created a space like NO OTHER for us to share our opinions, challenge our world views, and see society through the lens of our group's vast diversity. I came away from this program with an unapologetic feeling of hope that young people have what it takes to take meaningful action around the world and change it for the better.

People say that without intention, a gap year abroad can be a waste of time. Up with People is at the top of the intention mountain!

I traveled with Up with People as a student participant for 6 months and then 4 years as part of the volunteer staff. The program took me to places I never would have taken the initiative to visit otherwise, like Cuba, Kosovo, Estonia, Bermuda, and Mexico. Staying with host families has allowed me to see how much good there still is in the world. My memories from my time on the road are focused around people - I remember each country by the people I stayed with, the people I served with and the people we performed for. It's a unique way to see the world that only Up with People can offer. Living these experiences in a group from 20 different countries builds international friendships for life - you become part of something so much bigger than yourself.

I traveled with Up with People in 2008, and had the most incredible, culturally-immersive experience! I now have friends, and host families from countries around the globe. The opportunity to travel while giving back to communities through volunteer efforts gave me valuable perspective as to what others are doing to give back and create change. I am grateful for all that I got to experience and loved that my tour allowed me to see different regions of the world and many places I wouldn't have otherwise have visited. I was initially hesitant about living with host families, but that aspect turned out to be my favorite part. The conversations that happened around dinner tables worldwide gave me personal insight into the communities, and the people that call those places home. More than 10 years later, I am still in touch with the families and friends I encountered along my way!
I can't say enough about this program and the value of seeing the world in such a unique context. I highly recommend Up with People to anyone wanting a transformative cross-cultural experience!

I never had the chance to travel with Up with People since I only found out about it when I was well past traveling age. But I have been working for 2.5 years in the admissions department in the Denver office and it has been fantastic! The program has so much to offer - leadership training, international travel, cultural immersion (through host family stays), community service, musical performances - there really is no other program like it. Getting to see the cast when they arrive in Denver and be around their energy is incredible, and it just continues to get stronger and even more incredible as the weeks go by. If you're looking for a unique gap year or study abroad experience where you can have fun, help others, and make lifelong friends that become like family, then this is the program for you!

UWP is truly a program like no other, combining a multi-cultural program (typically 15-20 different nationalities represented) with international travel, host family stays, an intense and rewarding community service program, and the performing arts (even for those who can't sing or dance :-) ).
I traveled with UWP in the '80s, and in addition to life-long friends who are still my closest friends today, I met my wife on the road.
I owe a great deal of my career, and certainly my family situation, to the impact that UWP had on my life.
Coming out of high school, I wanted to be a teacher. Little did I know that I would spend my life teaching in a totally different way than in the classroom in eastern Iowa. After UWP I spent 25 years in the intercultural field, and have now returned to UWP, working in their European operations.

Up with People has been a major part of my life for as long as I can remember. My mother traveled and worked with this organization when she was young so I grew up listening to the songs and her stories from the road. The experiences she shared with me that the students have during their semester on tour are incredibly unique and special. The bonds formed within casts truly last a lifetime! Through my connection to the program I am close friends with many of the recent alum (many of whom are even children of my mother's cast mates!) I am thrilled to now be working at the Denver Headquarters as an Admissions Recruiter helping to shape the incoming casts! When you reach out for more information on this program you will likely be hearing back from me; I'm excited to work with you!!

My journey with Up with People started in 2009, just before I graduated from University. I had just returned from studying abroad and was SO bummed I hadn't heard of Up with People before making my study abroad choice...but that didn't stop me! I bugged them for about 8 months to bring me in as a Promotion Representative and started in the summer of 2010. The rest is history. I am still employed with Up with People 9 years later as the Director of Sales and have the opportunity to provide remarkable life changing experiences for people like YOU by scheduling a part of your future tour. Up with People gave me invaluable personal and professional development opportunities that I don't think I could have gained anywhere else. At the end of my first year with the organization I had managed media and financial partnerships valued at more than $300,000, planned community service projects, meals, educational activities, host families and promoted performances for 100 young people in 11 cities, in 5 U.S. States and 5 Countries. To do this I was moving to a new city every 6 weeks and working with a new international team of 1-2 other young adults. Up with People gave me the opportunity to see the world, change lives, apply and grow many hard and soft skills including organizational, interpersonal communication, cross-cultural communication, sales, relationship building, time management, media and proposal writing, event planning, logistics, cold calling, people management, public speaking...the list truly goes on and on! Experiences like mine are available to participants traveling in the program in the form of internships for an even more hands on personal, professional and immersive educational experience. I've seen first-hand this program change the lives of more than 1,800 youth, one of whom is my cousin. She started out shy, quiet and closed off. Fast-forward to 4 years later - she's graduated with a degree in communications, worked in radio and now is a public relations professional for a non-profit in her community. The experiences you gain in Up with People from host family living and cultural immersion to serving communities around the world through volunteerism and the arts is unmatched. You'll give a lot of yourself and get back SO.MUCH.MORE!