Your Personalized Letters to Congress

Following are excerpts from compelling letters NAFSAns and other international education supporters have recently sent to their members of Congress using NAFSA's Take Action Center. These excerpts are meant to serve as examples of effective communications that vividly illustrate the importance of international education. Next time you send a letter please remember to take five minutes to personalize your letter by telling a story as done in the examples below.

Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act (S.991/H.R.1469)
It was January 1989 when I stepped on my first international flight and into the most significant educational and life changing experience of my young life. I studied abroad in Seville, Spain and learned not only about Spanish culture and language, but also about myself as an American (of African descent). I am now twice as old as I was then and I have had the good fortune of stepping off flights, ferries, and buses into more of these wonderful cultural learning experiences throughout the years. What I have learned is that any opportunity to see the world, understand its history and peoples, and communicate (often through whatever means possible) complements classroom learning and provides a solid foundation for lifelong learning. -Judith Pennywell
Apart from the educational advantages I have from my study abroad experience, nothing surpasses the memories and the friendships I forged from traveling. I had the opportunity to meet people and see places that mean something to me, and from this I found purpose in my studies in International Relations other than simply an interest. I now have a drive to be involved in those issues that affect the places that I have experienced and that are dear to me. If it was not for the scholarships I had received, the world would still be a fantasy to me rather than an experience. -Jessica Rice
Having the opportunity to travel to Russia has changed my life. As I have seen the struggles of the people there I became more aware of the abundance of what I have at home. As I saw their classrooms, streets, and other public places I realized how much our government provides for us. As I saw the things they could and could not do I became more aware of my freedom. I realized how good I really have it while understanding how others could have different points of view not because they are ignorant but because their background is different from mine. These experiences have changed me and made me a better person and hopefully my peers who have class with me have been also impacted. -Cameron Walker
My life has never been the same after I have had the opportunity to study abroad in college in the United Kingdom and Japan. Through these experiences I learned what other parts of the world were like and grew my intercultural competence. These experiences were also important because I was able to see how other parts of the world view America. These viewpoints of America from other parts of the world are not as friendly as Americans sometimes believe. America is often misunderstood by the world and through study abroad; our students can show all the citizens of the world how wonderful we really are. -Kirsten Kaholoa
I studied in London in the spring of 2003, at a time when America's reputation and motives were being questioned by foreign publics at unprecedented levels. However, through the conversations I had with students in Britain and in my travels across Europe, I was able to not only listen to their concerns but also demonstrate the true values and character of an America that was often portrayed in very negative terms. Because of this one opportunity to study abroad, the Europeans I encountered began to realize that perhaps America isn't so bad; after all, how could they now despise the home country of their new friend? Can you imagine the result if we sent one million students abroad on an annual basis, as this bill proposes to do? Can you imagine the impact on national security if a sizable number of these students studied in non-traditional locations such as the Middle East or Southeast Asia? -John Graeber
Speaking from personal experience, I can say that getting to study abroad is invaluable. It changes you. You learn not only another language or another way of life, but cultural empathy and tolerance, which are the most crucial elements of peace. If we have any hope of creating a world at peace, we must educate our youth on cultural differences by giving them the opportunity to experience and know a culture first hand. If you give them the opportunity to know and love a country, culture, and people--the opportunity to knit their identity in with having lived in that place--then the likelihood of sponsoring cooperation with that country, place, and people increases astronomically, as does the size of the individual's heart. -Kara Martin
I recently took a group of students to Eastern Europe as part of an emerging markets course. The students went on a 10 day trip and one of the 20 students on the trip was named Hank. Hank is a promising senior graduating student from the Kelley School of Business. He's from the Indianapolis area and due to difficult family circumstances and the death of a parent, finances were tight and he was unable to spend a semester abroad. This one week opportunity, heavily subsidized by generous grants, allowed him to take his first trip outside the US. I saw this young man flourish in front of my eyes; asking questions to prominent business leaders and displaying the very best that we could hope for from a young Hoosier abroad. On the trip home Hank was eagerly anticipating a job in Finance that would allow him to travel abroad in the future continue to learn about the world around him even beyond graduation day. Please help me help students like Hank have broader opportunities. Your support and work with colleagues in the senate who are making the passage of this legislation difficult is of utmost importance. -Laurie Colglazier
Through studying abroad I have gained great insight about the world but more importantly about myself. Everyday I realize that I am an ambassador and example of my country; I do my best to represent us well. I believe that the reputation of our country can greatly benefit by sending students abroad. The experience I gained overseas has by far been the most valuable experience that my education has provided for me. It has fostered a newfound sense of compassion and empathy that I believe can only be obtained through traveling. Upon returning home I will make the encouragement of my peers to study abroad a priority, as I hope will you. -Marie Steiner
Studying abroad in Japan myself, I know first-hand how this experience can transform lives. Subsequently I joined the U.S. Peace Corps as a volunteer - building bridges of understanding between Hungary and the U.S. upon the fall of the Iron Curtain, pursued a post-BA degree in Comparative and International Affairs, participated in the Fulbright program to Korea, and have devoted the last nine years of my professional life to promoting campus internationalization, the free exchange of ideas and persons across borders, and the opening of minds to world in which we must all live, work, and engage with. As a Kansas resident and employee of the University of Kansas, I feel it is my duty to ensure that every Kansas student has the same opportunities to broaden their perspectives and horizons, and bring Kansas to the forefront of globally engaged and responsible states. I ask that you work to support this important piece of legislation, and join us among Kansas's chief advocates for a better and more globally-informed state. -Charlie Bankart
I am writing this email from my dorm room in Rennes, France, where I have spent the year on student exchange. Being abroad during the election process has been an amazing experience, as I watch for the first time — in my life, certainly, and in decades at the very least — as Americans, young and old, en masse, embrace the democratic process with excitement. Even more surprising, are the interest and personal investment that Europeans, Arabs, south Americans, Africans, etc, all have in this election. Every week I am asked about the progression of the primaries, I can't meet someone (anyone, from students to restaurant owners) without them bringing it up, asking whom I prefer, why, what my hopes are for this election... it is really quite incredible, quite inspiring; it has become so clear to me the importance of creating a truly global community, not based on capitalistic interests, or political borders, but on human contact. Study abroad programs offer the opportunity to learn about a country, a people, in a profound and personal way that could never be matched by the most honest and in-depth news program. It fleshes out the world beyond our borders and makes far-away ideas incredibly tangible. -Kate Ferry
I am not exaggerating when I say that my study abroad experience as a college junior during the 2000-2001 school year was the single most influential experience of my life. It helped me grow significantly as a person and gave me direction in my future life and career. One of the great things about studying abroad is that by removing them from their comfort zone, students are automatically challenged to learn personal skills like adaptability, problem-solving, communication (in foreign languages or variations of their own), understanding of cultural differences, humility and independence - IN ADDITION to what they are learning in the classroom. They no longer have the ability to take their surroundings for granted or make assumptions about the world around them. -Sarah McNitt