Why Should You Start a Study Abroad Club in Your High School?
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Post written by CIEE Global Navigator alum Sarah M. from Virginia, who was a CIEE Global Ambassador and participated in our Marketing Internship in spring of 2024. In this post, Sarah talks about starting a study abroad club in her high school and shares her reasons why you should too!
It’s the end of your high school summer program, and school is just around the corner. Now, most students would continue about their year like normal, doing typical extracurriculars like sports or clubs. You’ve already taken the initiative to stand out by pursuing a unique summer activity for high school students, but what more can you do?
For me, my answer was starting a study abroad club.
What is a Study Abroad Club?
This term has quite a loose meaning depending on how you run it, but in general, a CIEE study abroad club is where CIEE alumni/Global Ambassadors gather to spread the word about CIEE.
At our school, we hold monthly meetings on top of additional help sessions during study hall. For most meetings, we help answer questions that applicants in our school may have and lead fun, global activities, such as sampling snacks from around the world.
In the beginning, we had more structured presentations guiding students through the application process. We also attended events with themes pertaining to global topics in-school and within our county, presenting information to students about studying abroad with CIEE. Perhaps one of the best aspects of our club this past year were our excursions revolving around the UN Sustainable Development Goals, such as volunteering at DC Central Kitchen and visiting the Embassy of Belgium.
If these cool activities weren’t enticing enough, I’ll explain 3 more reasons why you should start a CIEE club!
1. Strengthen Your Experience Abroad
Building upon what I mentioned in the beginning, starting a study abroad club is a great way to stand out, especially amongst other students who studied abroad. Most students will treat studying abroad as a one-off thing, maybe to visit a country they always wanted to see or have something unique to add to their college application. However, showing admissions officers you are prolonging the impact of your experience by connecting with your community and initiating related activities through your club will launch you to another level.
Bonus: You are representing a large, well-established non-profit!
2. Maintain a Connection With CIEE
Networking is one of the most important— yet seldom mentioned— ways to excel in your career. By creating a study abroad club, you are developing a partnership with CIEE as well as other students who studied abroad. Depending on how you pursue your club activities, it will also be a great way to connect with CIEE staff who are well into their respective careers (marketing, international relations, etc.).
3. Get Rewarded From Referrals
Of course, this is a great opportunity to share your referral code through Refer-a-Friend Rewards, where you can provide a big discount for students who study abroad on top of earning money yourself after they travel. Additionally, accumulating a high amount of referrals is great if you become a Global Ambassador as well, as you’ll be entered into monthly referral contests with gift card prizes.
With our referral codes, our club earned around $2000 total by the end of the school year and we dedicated a portion toward creating an applicant scholarship fund!
To get started, you can access the CIEE school club master guide, including a starter kit outlining a basic month-to-month structure via the Promote Study Abroad page.