The 2015-2016 Global UGRAD Program is a Wrap!
As the saying goes, Once a UGRAD, always a UGRAD! As we near the middle of the 2017 spring semester, we still have great memories of last year’s 2015-2016 cohort. Before each of them returned to their home countries, we asked the participants to complete an End-of-Program survey. The purpose of this survey is to gather data that will help us make the program even better in years to come.
Here’s what the 2015-2016 cohort had to say about their Global UGRAD experiences in six bullet points:
1. On a scale of 1 to 5 (with 5 being “excellent”), students reported the quality of their U.S. educational experience as 4.67
2. The most popular extra-curricular activity/club was Campus International Student Clubs
3. Nearly everyone believes their Global UGRAD experience will positively affect their career prospects. “An international experience is not taken for granted, It shows a capability of adapting and overcoming difficulties outside one’s comfort zone that cannot be gained in any other way.” – anonymous respondent
4. More than 50% report that their view/opinions of the U.S. “mostly” or “completely” changed over the course of the Program, often noting that the America they came to know was more positive than the one they had seen in the media
5. The issues Global UGRADs are most interested in working on back home are: Youth Leadership and English Language Learning
6. 61% left the U.S. with an action plan for a specific volunteer project they want to start back home.
We’ll leave you with this quote: “I changed a lot since coming here. I am definitely a person who knows how to balance her time more, a more mature, open-minded, confident and competent woman! I can’t wait until I go back home to show my family and friends how much I’ve grown here”.
Thank you for a fantastic 2015-2016 year, Global UGRADs. We wish you all the best as you continue to be leaders and role-models in your home communities!
