This pair of workshops, led by Zahara Heckscher, will help you more effectively guide your students who seek international volunteer or work experiences.
Part 1: How to help your students evaluate overseas volunteer programs (and find opportunities that match their budgets, interests, timelines and values). Advisers to students interested in international volunteering can’t possibly know everything about all the different volunteer programs—but they can guide students to do their own effective exploration and find a good match. In this session we will begin with tools to help students look inside themselves before they explore the vast range of volunteer programs. We’ll also address resistance to this vital step and how to overcome that resistance. Then we will share practical tips and resources for helping students develop a short list of possible volunteer programs that match their priorities for service. Next we’ll detail the evaluation process—online and offline resources, as well as techniques to help students find a match for their interests. Finally, we’ll close with thoughts on how to send students off with realistic expectations about their service. We will include time for participants to raise their own questions about student international volunteering, and helpful handouts for participants to adapt for their own students.
Part 2: How to help your students find their first international jobs. In this session, we’ll explore, in detail, five effective strategies for getting over your students’ predicament: They can’t get a job overseas because they lack experience, and they can’t get experience because no one will hire them for international jobs. Strategies covered will include starting as a teacher and then changing jobs; finding paid “volunteer” work; making a lateral move; and the in-country job search. Each strategy will include case studies and resources you can use to advise your students. The focus will be on nonprofit and educational sectors, although the strategies covered will apply to other sectors as well. We’ll end by reviewing worksheets to help you guide each student towards a strategy that will work for him or her. Participants will get copies of the worksheets to adapt for their own use. The workshop will be interactive, and will encourage participants to share real world challenges – and success stories — from recent students.
Who will benefit from this workshop series?
- University/college service learning and study abroad administrators
- University career center employees
- Faculty/teachers leading groups abroad or teaching subjects that attract students who want to serve overseas
- MA students in international education/counseling
- Life coaches
- Students interested in jobs or volunteering overseas
- Not-for-profits with an international agenda
- Global Education Consultants
- Anyone who wants to deepen his/her understanding of international opportunities
Details:
You can register below! Just scroll down after you read the presenter information at the bottom of the page.
- Each of the 2 sessions is approximately 90 minutes. You’ll be receiving approximately 3 hours of training. Both sessions will be recorded, so please don’t worry if you cannot attend the live session. If you are at the Forum Conference in Denver, you can still register (either live or via the recording!) The first session will take place on March 23 and part two will take place on March 27.
- This will be a webinar. You will be able to chat with presenters (and your colleagues who register) via a chat space.
- The MelibeeU workshop fee (for both parts = 3 hours of training) is $199. There is a special full-time student rate of $149. Please contact info@melibeeglobal.com for the discount code for the student rate. What a bargain! And you don’t even have to leave your desk! (If you prefer to pay with a check, please email info@melibeeglobal.com for more details.)
- Please be sure to read the “fine print” in the registration process.
- You must register for the package of 2 workshops. All sessions will be live and also recorded, so you can listen to them at your convenience later.
Your Presenters:
Zahara Heckscher
Zahara Heckscher‘s career as a writer, trainer, and social justice organizer is grounded in her work overseas: volunteering to plant fruit trees in rural Zambia and helping to build a medical clinic in Nicaragua. These experiences inspired her to co-write the book, How to Live Your Dream of Volunteering Overseas. She is a contributing editor and columnist on volunteering abroad at Transitions Abroad. Her articles have been published in Community Jobs magazine and in the book Global Backlash: Citizen Initiatives for a Just World Economy. Heckscher resides in Washington, D.C., where she completed her M.A. in International Development at American University. She currently teaches at the University of Maryland, College Park. Heckscher also offers in-person workshops about international volunteering and careers at campuses around the country which can be scheduled by Melibee Global (info@melibeeglobal.com)
Missy Gluckmann
Missy Gluckmann is the founder of Melibee Global Education Consulting and MelibeeU, the professional development arm of Melibee Global. Her blog, www.melibeeglobal.com, is where she shares resources, stories and tools for international educators. Missy developed the Melibee Global speaker series to create opportunities for educators to share inspirational role models of global citizenship. She has advised and administered study abroad programs at New York University, Marymount College, State University of New York (RCC) and Western Connecticut State University. Missy worked as an Account Executive and Human Resource Consultant at Cartus, the world’s largest relocation company, where she counseled HR for Fortune 500 companies on international relocation best practices. A graduate of the MA program in International Education Administration at the School for International Training in Vermont, Missy lived abroad twice and has traveled to more than two dozen countries.
Follow Us!