Stepping Out 

  a student's guide to education beyond the classroom
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INCREASED SELF-CONFIDENCE

       Travis with baby

"The self-confidence I've gained out of learning a foreign culture has come to pull me along through life, giving me perspective where other avenues fail." -Travis Winn, 22 (above, teaching a youngster to kayak in China)

Stepping out is an amazing way to increase your self-confidence.  Joanna Lazarek, Vice-President of Interim Programs, explains that the level of independence students come away with after stepping out is huge.  "It is very different to do an Interim year and negotiate foreign countries...there is a unique sense of independence that comes from living in India for three months at age 18 as opposed to living in the dorms."

Stepping out gives you time to think about who it is you really are.  Seth Prickett, 23, explains it like this:

"After being detached from my own culture and society I have gained an amazing self-awareness that I never knew before.  I feel as though I really know who I am.  You have so much time to really discover who you are and think about what really matters in life.  I also have a greater self-confidence after my program.  I know my personal strengths and weaknesses better and I can use them to my advantage." 

Difficult experiences faced while stepping out will help increase your self-confidence as you realize the depth of your abilities.  Cassie DeFillipo, 21, explains:

"I will tell a story of my second trip abroad.  I traveled to Slovenia by myself.  I got there at 10:00 p.m. and it was pitch black.  I couldn't find anyone to give me directions to my hostel or to speak to me in English.  The taxi drivers were trying to rip me off because they knew I was lost.  I was so frustrated.  Then I stepped back, cleared my mind, and got out my map.  I figured out the hostel was close enough to walk to and set off.  Ten minutes later, I was there.  There is no better feeling than getting yourself out of such sticky situations."