I recently heard from a former student that her career trajectory changed after exploring traditional medicine with VIA in Yogyakarta. Her review is available to read on the site.
I'd followed her work for the past few years but it wasn't until she wrote the review here that I realized VIA had played a role in that trajectory and that was very meaningful for me to see that even our shorter (4-week) programs have significant impact on individuals.
I'm a little too old to go on a high school program, but I would definitely choose one of the Youth Leadership Programs - either in Indonesia or Hong Kong.
Every year the student cohort is fantastically inspirational and they get to see parts of Indonesia and Hong Kong that are often hidden from the view of average tourists.
All while tackling important global issues like climate change and social justice.
While there are plenty of study abroad programs that try to create a family feel amongst staff, VIA takes this one step further and cultivates a strong sense of ownership amongst participants and alumni. We work hard to make sure that participants feel that they can make change within VIA as well as within their communities.
I think strong partnerships is one of the most important things for a successful company in this field, and it is something VIA has excelled at for over 50 years.
We work with our local partners to find ways to link them to each other, to resources, to new experiences for their staff and clients, and to educational opportunities. This is one of the aspects of our work that I am most proud of and constantly working to expand.