GRADUATES LEARN REAL-LIFE SKILLS AND CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING BY WORKING OVERSEAS

By Shelly Bayless Fabian

Shelly Bayless Fabian, pictured third from right, was a member of the first Canada-Mexico Youth Exchange Program in 1974 | Photo: Shelly Bayless Fabian

The year was 1974. I was about to graduate and faced a dilemma. Armed with a BA, I received two employment offers and an acceptance to a master's program. I was also invited to the first Canada-Mexico work exchange program for young adults.

What to choose? A wise mentor counselled me that the jobs and further studies would always be there, but the chance to work abroad would be a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. She was right!

Rose Matheson had a bit of a culture shock when she spent a semester at a Canadian university. Reap the benefit of her experience.

The classic exchange student mantra is something like this: "I don't need to study since I'm just here for the experience."

That is partly true, but you still have to pass every course or be forced to say hello to another semester of university - and pay back any scholarship money!

For the second year in a row, Randstad Canada has named WestJet the country's most attractive employer. The Randstad Award rewards employer brand and best practices but unlike other similar awards, it's the only one where the winners are chosen entirely by workers and job seekers.

Editor's note: Christiane Amanpour is anchor of CNN's "Amanpour." This open letter to the girls of the world is part of the "Girl Rising" project. CNN Films' "Girl Rising" documents extraordinary girls and the power of education to change the world. Watch it June 16.

(CNN) -- Dear Girls of the World,

There are more than 7 billion people in the world. Half of them are women and girls.

Just imagine the whole world rising, as it will, when all women and girls are empowered.

 

St. Mark's Square in Venice was the site of a memorable moment for University of Kansas graduate Anna Allen, who funded an overseas trip by working as an au pair.
(Photo: Gene Sloan, USA TODAY)

Working as an au pair offers a wide variety of benefits -- and could be an ideal solution for students who aren't able to afford a trip abroad.

Two years ago, Anna Allen needed a break from her life at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. A journalism and German double major, she longed to travel to Germany, but couldn't afford the costly study abroad program. So she decided to become an au pair.

VICTORIA - The B.C. government is providing $900,000 for graduate student scholarships at the province's four research-intensive universities.

"These scholarships will support some of our best and brightest as they advance their graduate studies and apply their knowledge and skills to the benefit of their chosen research areas, our post-secondary education sector, and all British Columbians," said Ralph Sultan, Minister of Advanced Education, Innovation and Technology.

Students can gain valuable social and cultural and experiences and boost their skills ready for work if they study abroad as part of their studies, according to the University's President and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Colin Riordan.

Unveiling a new target of 17% of all University graduates to study, work or volunteer abroad by 2017, Professor Riordan believes it is vital that more is done in Wales to raise the possibilities and benefits to students of studying abroad.

Becca Bona

Study abroad has become a more available opportunity to students in recent years. Getting a new perspective on the world by getting outside of comfort zones adds an excellent hands-on learning approach to any college curriculum. 

I was lucky enough to get to study abroad during my time at Hendrix. I was located in London, nearly two blocks away from the British Museum. I was literally thrown into a totally different environment, and although there wasn't a language barrier that I would have experienced, say, if I had traveled to Japan, some of those Cockney accents were comparable to what Greek sounds like to me. 

In the 2012 Open Doors report, the institute for International Education found that over 273,000 college students study abroad in 2010. That number has tripled over the past two decades.

Kellye Crockett from the Barstow School shares study abroad tips to keep mom, dad and the kids happy and safe.

A group of university students has called on Ontario’s Minister of Labour to end unpaid internships, just as two prominent Canadian employers become the latest focal points for growing controversy over the practice that critics say illegally exploits young people. (Shutterstock image)

A group of university students has called on Ontario's Minister of Labour to end unpaid internships, just as two prominent Canadian employers become the latest focal points for growing controversy over the practice that critics say illegally exploits young people.

The University of Toronto Students' Union (UTSU) contends that more than 300,000 Canadians are "illegally misclassified" each year as interns, trainees and non-employees, a situation that they say has a destabilizing effect on the economy because unpaid work drives average wages down while increasing student debt at a time when the youth unemployment rate is twice the national average at 14.2 per cent.