An increasing number of students who went to volunteer abroad has prompted us to ask them why they go and what they experience while overseas. We found out that each one of them has different goals, interests, and expectations. Some go for fun and adventure, some go to make their resumes look better, and others go to simply make a difference and have an impact on the world. Whatever your cause is, reading some of the feedback provided by students might help decide what program to choose, where to go, and most importantly it will help you decide why you want to volunteer abroad.

“I was skeptical about volunteering abroad at first because of the program fee. I wasn’t sure why you had to pay out of your own pocket to volunteer until I signed up for the program and arrived to Ghana. My goal is to become a teacher of English as a Second Language and so I signed up for a Teach English program in Ghana. My experience was simply amazing. I worked a lot with the orphans and taught English as well as drawing and math to them. The amount of love that I got from them was overwhelming. I have really strengthened my wants to become a teacher and I realized that I do not want to be anything else. It was an eye opening experience that made me look at the world from a whole different perspective. I am very thankful for those who made my volunteer abroad trip to Ghana possible…” - Jenna from University of Michigan

“I can’t say enough how much my volunteer abroad program in India helped me grow as a person! I honestly could have never thought that a smile on a child’s face can change my major! I was a freshmen majoring in Finance and then decided to volunteer in India just for fun basically. When I got back home, I realized how much emotions I have gone through and decided to change my major to Children’s Psychology. I absolutely love it!…” - Amanda at University of Phoenix

“My friend talked me into volunteering abroad in Costa Rica with him. We had a blast at our project. Not only we got to do a lot of fun work like building and painting, but we also made a lot of new friends who will serve us a lifetime! We really had an amazing time which was very refreshing and inspiring…” - James at University of Minnesota

As you can see, students volunteer abroad for a variety of different reasons and come back with their own stories and memories full of life-changing experiences. Why don’t you go abroad and see what it has in store for you?