Program Reviews

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!

Awesome program! I narrowed down my gap year (between college & graduate school) to either the Peace Corps or UWP. I chose UWP since it was for 1 year rather than 2 (now you can choose 6 months or 1 year with UWP). It was one of the best choices I've ever made.

The reason I joined was primarily for the host family & community service experiences. I knew I wanted to be a family therapist, so thought those experiences would be helpful (& a good resume booster!): it was! I loved living with so many different families & experiencing cultures first hand from around the world. And, by visiting & helping at nursing homes, prisons, schools, ... I got to see just how much I really enjoyed working with people. I ended up taking a little more gap time before graduate school. The job I got (working with teen moms) was purely because I traveled with UWP: my boss loved a "worldly" person and someone with all the experience I had with diverse groups of people.

There are several internships and skills to learn while on the road: sound mixing, lighting, education, dance, singing, logistics, promotions, ... I was not much of a show person, but enjoyed our performance. I could sing, so was put on the microphone group (the sound the audience primarily hears), but never tried out for a solo. Over time, I decided to do more behind-the-scenes work, so learned sound mixing (using a monitor mixer).

The non-profit was founded by a group called MRA (a Christian group). It switched to being UWP just a few years later and became non-sectarian. It's an incredibly open-minded organization and strives for diversity of it's cast members & staff: politically, ethnically, culturally, religious values, sexual orientation, etc.

Today, about 28 years later, I'm still in touch with about 125 cast members/staff. It's like the gift that keeps on giving.

This program shaped my worldview and dedication to serving others in my local community and around the world. It helped increase my networking and business skills which led to jobs, and many other opportunities. The experience also still provides me with a network of people all over the world. One of my favorite experiences was staying with host families in many different cities, states, and countries. It was great to be apart of a family to learn their customs, traditions, and enjoy their food. I traveled to Europe, China, Canada, Mexico, and all over the USA. The other great part was traveling with other young adults from many different countries. We learned a lot about each other and the friendships still remain. The program still offers students a great global experience.

My UWP Experience was really great i have discovered a lot of things from traveling i feel before traveling my knowledge of the world and cultures was very little. what i like the most was that we were hosted by local families which a lot to absorb the culture of different people depending where we were. coming from Johannesburg South Africa i was really happy to see the world through UWP and also to be part of the network since I am working in the tourism space.

For me the combination of all aspects of this program was what got my attention and then I made the decision to DO IT!

It's simple and great!

TRAVEL - Every week we travelled to a different city in the world.
PERFORM - We were part of a professionally produced concert!*
HELP communities - We did volunteer work to help the communities we visited.

INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPANTS - It's young people (about 100) from around 20 different countries.
HOST FAMILIES - We stood with local host families. This way we got to know the culture better.

I have not seen any other program in the world that combines all this aspects. I am super passionate about this program, Up with People!

* The show is mainly 3 things - international songs and dances from around the world, pop medleys and original songs. It has a live band, video, costumes, great sound and lights.

I was the drummer of the show but you don't need to be a musician, singer or a dancer necessarily.