Some of today’s uncertainties have provided a chance for us to pause and reflect on our work. We know that much of our collective efforts will see evolution in the months and years ahead. But one thing that will most certainly not change is the power and impact of EF Study Abroad Group Leaders.
As an EF Group Leader, you show your students the world. You broaden horizons and change lives. You add richness to learning and improve the overall quality of education. You make your students the stars of the show. Your unbelievable efforts are for them.
By leading an EF group abroad, you’re also engaging in deep and enriching professional development and growth for you; as an educator, as a professional, as an individual. But oftentimes, the appropriate and deserved recognition of these new competencies goes too quietly unnoticed.
We thought it might be a nice expression of our gratitude to reflect back and remind all of our EF Study Abroad Group Leaders of the enormous impact you have on your students, communities, and institutions.
Whether you find a way to share this, add to your professional dossier, include in a tenure review packet, or simply reflect on the recognition – this is for you.
EF Group Leader Professional Development Competencies
- You developed learning content, both instructional and experiential.
- You mastered student communication as an enthusiastic sponsor and spokesperson for your travel program.
- You excelled as a key driver to achieve internationalization goals set forth by your institution.
- You completed a training module that delivered new intellectual material preparing you as a Global Educator.
- You engaged in conference workshops focused on enhancing Global Educator best practices.
- You built a cross-cultural partnership with an international professional (Tour Director) to provide logistics and to deliver your group with in-country knowledge.
- You established community through collaboration with other faculty and students from other institutions around the United States.
- You expressed risk management mindfulness by equipping your students with the necessary cultural and logistical knowledge prior to departure.
- You demonstrated leadership by guiding students into foreign and diverse educational landscapes where they were confronted by new people, environments, challenges, and experiences.
- You orchestrated powerful reflection moments for your students to extrapolate the utility of their experience.
- You delivered meaningful outcomes defined by gains in student soft skills such as confidence, curiosity, empathy, self-awareness, global perspective, cultural knowledge, and adaptability.
- You accelerated the career readiness and marketability of your students by awarding them the opportunity to become more collaborative, team-oriented, skilled communicators.
- You increased the marketability of your institution by diversifying the portfolio of international education programs offered to its community.
- You accomplished this all on your own time with zero additional cost to the college.
- You’ve done this again, and again, and again.
- And so much more.
Thank you so much for everything you do. We cannot wait to see you out there again soon enough.
With admiration,
Your EF Team
