Experiences in which students immerse themselves in cultures or environments other than their own and engage in appropriate opportunities for reflection

Overview

The aim of the Global Awareness (GA) component of the Odyssey experience is to help students understand and appreciate cultures or environments other than their own. Toward that end, students are encouraged to engage in learning outside the classroom that broadens their intellectual horizons and deepens their understanding of the political, social, cultural, environmental, spiritual and economic issues affecting the world today. Global Awareness opportunities are also designed to promote personal growth and self-reliance as well as to provide new perspectives about the student’s own culture or environment.

Any Global Awareness activity for which Odyssey credit is awarded must contain both an immersion component and a reflection component. Exposure to the target culture or environment shall be direct and substantial: one to two weeks of continuous immersion should be viewed as a minimum. The reflection component, which may include such things as guided small- and large-group discussions, papers, journals, and oral presentations, will generally increase in importance as the length of immersion decreases. For example, a full academic semester abroad would not generally require any supplemental work to qualify for GA credit, whereas a student spending only a single week in a foreign culture or environment would be expected to prepare substantial supplementary work in order for that activity to be recognized as satisfying the GA Odyssey requirement.