One of the newest faces joining the Global Education Office is advisor Laura Castle.
In college, Laura spent a semester studying abroad in Galway, Ireland where she took elective classes and did service learning work in an elementary school. Laura also had the opportunity to travel to many places in the UK.
After college, Laura embarked on what she considers the hardest year of her life, but by far the most empowering—a year in South Africa working with Singakwenze, a non-profit organization dedicated to building sustainable early childhood education programs in communities. Laura made educational toys out of recycled materials and worked to empower women despite the lack of financial resources available to them. She also worked with HIV positive teenagers at a camp, helping them to build relationships with other teenagers experiencing similar hardships.
In 2015, Laura joined the University of Minnesota where she coordinated student service immersion trips to Tijuana, Mexico. These weeklong service trips focused on border control, immigration, and deportation. Participants had the opportunity to spend time with locals. This chapter of her life is what brought Laura to love higher education.
Laura’s travels have exposed her to various education systems. As a result, she feels passionate that everyone should have the opportunity to get an education, and that students can enrich their education through study abroad. In her new position here at Virginia Tech, Laura will be doing just that—helping advise students on the options
and resources available.
Students often cite financial needs and demanding majors as common barriers to studying abroad. Laura will provide resources and direction through the financial aid process as well as help to navigate options for those students who may have little flexibility in their academic schedules.
“Everyone who wants to study abroad should do so, despite the barriers. We want to increase the diversity and overall population of students who have an international experience,” Laura said. “I look forward to guiding students throughout the process of choosing a program and supporting them throughout their journey.”
Laura has a few tips for students looking to study abroad:
Choose a program that you are enthusiastic about and that meets your academic and personal goals.
Be open to all of the opportunities and explore your options. “Many students feel like they have to do a certain program because everyone else is doing it in their major, but it may not be the right fit! Make sure to shop around and keep an open mind.”
Cultural immersion is greatly beneficial and allows the students to learn so much about themselves. “We learn the most when we are around people who are different than us."
Pictured here: Laura and friends attempting to eat sugar
cane in the fields around her home in South Africa.
Pictured above: Laura with her host sister, who she
lived with for the year that she was in South Africa.
