That Includes Me

The real value of study abroad isn’t that it can transform individual lives, it’s that study abroad can transform all of our lives.

Study abroad transforms lives by increasing awarenessand empathy. Successful programs, like the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Program, begin this transformation during the pre-departure orientations. YES students coming from 40 countries with significant Muslim populations to the United States for an exchange experience are well prepared. Their orientation topics have included: how to be a young ambassador, bullying, financial management, media relations, law enforcement, volunteerism, privacy, religious beliefs, and race relations. Each topic addressed builds awareness and empathy.

The 11^th cohort of more than 800 YES students will arrive next month to a country engaged in recently intensified national dialogue on race relations. These remarks by President Obama on Trayvon Martin are extraordinary for their awareness and empathy, and relevant for YES students:

There are very…