Student Arrival Orientation 2019

Learning to overcome challenges at new heights.

It’s the beginning of a new program year, with new leaders to train. The training for World Link FLEX and YES students start with their Student Arrival Orientations. This energetic meeting is packed with information for a successful exchange year.

The orientation focuses on teaching students about the program, building bonds with their exchange student peers and coordinators, and giving them the confidence to overcome challenges they could face during the year.

There can be many challenges for an exchange student. They must adjust to this new culture and it can be difficult to make American friends. It may be hard to balance their new roles and responsibilities. Staying connected to home is important, but how do they ensure it is not getting in the way of opportunities here?

These topics and more are covered through many different activities and exercises over the course of the weekend.

The students say the activity affecting them most is the camp challenge course. Each camp course was set up differently, with a variety of possible elements such as high ropes, rock walls, and zip lines. No matter which of these elements the students were asked to complete, each challenges the students to climb to new heights and gain the courage to take a leap of faith.

The challenge course makes them adapt to new situations and overcome difficulties in order to make it to the end. Once complete, students feel accomplished and like they can do anything. The challenge course is the perfect embodiment of a student’s exchange year.

Take a moment to read what the students have to say.

Student Reflections:

“All my life I was afraid to take risks. I was afraid of failing. But in the most important moment, I did it! I became brave and I did that jump. The jump which definitely changed my life. So my advice to you, never be afraid to take risks in your life, because as you can see in my example, your life can change immediately if you are brave. So JUMP!”
– Anusher Mahmadjonov (Tajikistan/CA)
“For the first time in my life, I saw so many different people with their own culture. These people helped me not to be afraid of heights and challenges…
Now I know that you can take just one step and it’s not so scary as it seems.
Better is to risk and try than skip and never know what it is like.”
– Ilona Ohrodnichuk (Ukraine/TX)
“Orientation was an outstanding opportunity, that helped me to overcome my fears, to become more confident, to say YES and never give up. With so many creative and interesting sessions, coordinators helped us to become stronger. After all this encouragement, I became way more powerful than before. Now orientation is finished and I feel there is nothing impossible, the only thing we need is to get out of our comfort zone and seize the day.
Together we are stronger! We are Future Leaders!”
– Lasha Totladze (Georgia/IA)
“My favorite activity was the zipline. Why? First, you have to climb to the top and it’s really hard. You can fail, you can scratch your hands, legs, but keep climbing. And when you reach the top, you just relax and fly. It had a big impact on me, cause in life we also should climb. We can fall in life, have some problems, be disappointed, but still believe in ourselves and reach the top, reach our goals and wishes and then just feel this amazing feeling of achievement.
I will never forget this activity.”
– Leyla Ramonkulova (Tajikistan/CO)
“I am so proud of myself that I overcame my biggest fear with the help and support of all of my amazing friends and coordinators…
We are ALL A TEN AND WE CAN DO IT. SAY YES ❤ Go WORLD LINK”
– Imen Aouadi (Tunisia/IL)
“Now I am confident enough to say that I can face all sort of challenges that might come in my future… I believe, if I can face my fears then surely I can face all the challenges and obstacles that might come in my way throughout this journey. I can feel a change in myself after attending this orientation.
Can’t wait to see what happens next! I CAN DO IT!”
– Amna Shahzad (Pakistan/CA)
“I have a lot of goals for my exchange year. This year will be for me a year of self-confidence, leaving my comfort zone, new experiences, new friends, new opportunities!”
– Aigerim Nurlanbek Kyzy (Kyrgyzstan/CO)
“The activity which made the most impact on me was the rope course. It gave me more confidence and made me fearless and this orientation helped me to know more about how to face challenges and problems.”
– Nandhika Kamalakkannan (India/CA)
“I’ve learned not to compare myself with others, how to be confident, how to improve my public speaking skills and overcome my fear of heights… I want to say, ‘Never give up! Set goals and achieve them! Your efforts will be paid!’”
– Olena Shevchenko (Ukraine/IA)
“…we learned the most important steps in our journey, to be brave, be confident and be crazy to try new things… I plan on doing the best that I can, to step out into this world and show my culture to other people and help them in even simple things… ‘I am brave, I am confident, I am crazy. JUST DO IT!’”
– Lyza Elentoria (Philippines/CA)

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