Full Year Global High School Program

It is unlike any other experience offered to high school students. The Big Year takes you out of the classroom you’ve grown so accustomed to and throws you full-fledged into the world. The Big Year taught me a whole side of eastern history that would never have been a part of my curriculum otherwise. There’s nothing quite like sitting down in the middle of the Forbidden City with tourists swarming around you and learning about the history of the towering red walls and the Great Leader that built them. There’s nothing like sprinting through Venice on a scavenger hunt, cursing the tourist-filled alleyways, trying to find some lost relic or statue from another time. There’s nothing quite like the group dynamic you develop; there’s nothing like the family you become. The Big Year throws you into such a diverse group of people that are all so unique with such strong characters. I never thought I would ever meet people like the one’s I did. Meeting such unique people allowed me to uncover a side of myself I never knew existed. The program changes you in the best way possible and really helps you come into your own. Our teachers curated student-teacher relationships, unlike anything I had ever been able to develop in a normal high school setting. Your teachers become your mentors as well as your friends. They’re the ones you sit down with when you’re working on an essay; they’re the ones you exchange toe rings with or take you to the doctors when you need one. They care. They care so much about students. Everyone does, if ever you’re feeling upset or alone it is such a wonderful and comforting thing to know you can turn to absolutely anyone on the trip. The Big Year is exactly that; it’s a BIG year. Students can expect to meet people, unlike anyone they’ve ever known and see places so incredible they couldn’t even fathom it before seeing it with their own eyes. It is everything I’ve said, and so much more, it is truly the experience of a lifetime, and I feel so privileged to have experienced it.

I never thought that a beach in Vietnam, a tree in the Daintree Forest, an ancient park in Beijing used for sacrifice thousands of years ago, or simply the grass beneath the Eiffel Tower could be a lecture spot. MEI showed me that it doesn't take a desk and chair to have the ability to learn something new. Being exposed first hand to the way and places others live makes you appreciate not only how lucky you are, but how much of a difference your life can make in the world. Never in my life did I think I would enjoy going to school or voicing my opinions, but within a week of my trip I was infatuated with learning. MEI Academy made me who I am now and I am eternally grateful for every experience, memory and ounce of happiness this trip gave me and made me into. Not a single minute of the day passes me now where I don’t think back on the days I spent with people I loved traveling and seeing the world. I cannot day enough amazing things about MEI Academy.

The MEI Big Year was one of the best decisions I have made in my life. There truly are no words that can fully capture the thrilling and adventure-filled year I got to experience while backpacking through 11 different countries, cultures, and climates. From running along the Great Wall to lectures inside the Colosseum, MEI is an education like no other. On my Big Year, I got to gain worldly knowledge from teachers who were passionate about what they were sharing. Every morning I woke up excited to explore and discover the history of the country I was in. Learning about the Vietnam war (while crawling through the Cu Chi tunnels), trading stocks in the heart of Sydney, and re-enacting Greek plays overlooking crystal blue Grecian waters, were things I had never experienced in other schools. Looking back now, I am grateful that my Big Year brought me lifelong friendships and showed me a reason to say that I enjoy learning. MEI gave me the experience to know that true education is never ending.