What is the best story you've heard from a return student?
A recent IPSL student to our Thessaloniki, Greece program became involved in the Syrian refugee assistance. She took it upon herself to offer help to the aid organizations and to lead her fellow students to assist as well. She spent countless hours outside of her program (her studies and official service placement) serving wherever the need was greatest.
How have you changed/grown since working for your current company?
I understand in a deep way the power of the abroad service experience to shape the direction of student's lives.
What do you believe to be the biggest factor in being a successful company?
Having a team that sees the possibilities rather than the obstacles, that defaults to saying "yes" rather than "no" and believes that when you reach out to one you can influence the condition of all.
What unique qualities does your company possess?
We are an organization that operates from a place of true integrity. We allow each member of our team to create and innovate and make sure everyone feels it is ok to make mistakes.
Which destination is most underrated? Conversely, which is most overrated?
- Underrated: Hanoi, Vietnam
- Overrated: London, UK
Describe a time when you felt especially proud to be part of your current team.
As a team, we constantly come back to the question, What is our mission? Our grounding purpose is service and if our programs, projects or work does not support this, we do not pursue it. We recently decided to abandon a strategic partnership (despite lost revenue and organizational growth) when it became apparent our mission did not align with theirs.