Sam Parker is a 25 year old living in Philadelphia, and is currently in school to become an occupational therapist. She's passionate about travel, philly, yoga, anything Harry Potter, and her two fur babies Luna(tic) and Artemis(Chievous). 

Travelling is one of the most important things you can do, in terms of global understanding, personal growth, and to improve your career. You can explore new places, make friends, or practice new occupations. You’ll learn from the plethora of people you will meet, and learn about different cultures, worldviews, and languages. You’ll have an adventure! You’ll be surprised by what you see and learn, and start to incorporate your new experiences into your own life (Vietnamese coffee, I’m looking at you!).

Steph Dyson is a travel writer and educational volunteer who writers about adventurous travel and meaningful volunteering – two ways of travelling that she views as life-changing and accessible means of experiencing the world.

2016 International Young Scholars Workshop Studies Equity, Community Engagement: Cape Town Broadens Research and Minds

What’s it really like to teach abroad? Author and international educator Ann Marie Mershon shares her experiences in her new book, You must only to love them: Lessons Learned in Turkey. It’s a fantastic read, full of tales of travel (one of the greatest benefits of teaching overseas!), classroom challenges and joys, living in Istanbul, cultural adjustment, and the daily life of a teacher abroad. 

Beth Santos is founder and CEO of Wanderful, a global network for adventurous, independent women travelers. She is a recently transplant to Boston from Chicago and can be swayed to do pretty much anything if offered chocolate peanut butter ice cream.

Kyle Carey has lived in Alaska, New England, Cape Breton, Ireland, Scotland, and New York. From these experiences, she is forging music she calls Gaelic Americana, a mix that draws on music of the Appalachian south and wider American folk story as much as it does on musical traditions of Ireland and, especially, Scotland. 

Jill Dobbe is an international educator and published author who writes about her experiences living and working in schools and countries around the world. 

Between 1975 and 1979, an estimated two million people (a quarter of the population at the time) were killed in Cambodia through starvation, torture, execution, disease and overwork under the ruling of the Khmer Rouge. Intellectuals were targeted, and as a result, Cambodia lost most of their educated population. 

Marie is passionate about travel and languages. She is studying Translation, Interpretation, and Intercultural Management in Paris. She speaks French, Spanish, and English fluently and is currently learning Italian and Breton. Marie’s goal is to speak as many languages as possible, mostly learning them by travelling around the world.