Victoria Swander

My involvement with the World Travelers study abroad club included some of the most challenging, yet most rewarding experiences for me while at Santa Fe College. I joined this group in the fall of 2013 to discover more information about the study abroad process. The club remained small and modest in the beginning. However, during the summer of 2014 I attended a study abroad trip to China. This experience had a transformative effect on me personally. It opened my eyes to the world and sparked a passion for international experiences and global understanding. I also realized how important it is for students to have these kinds of experiences, and I wanted to reach out to as many people as possible to encourage them the same way that SF faculty and students encouraged me. Along with another member, I returned from China energized and motivated to help develop the club.

 

We understood WHY it was important to get students involved in international education, but in order to increase our active membership we realized we needed to have a better understanding of HOW to do this. Therefore, we took advantage of the many campus resources that SF provides. We attended Student Organization Officer Training and budget workshops. We went to leadership training, including the Art and Keys of Leadership conferences. This allowed us to gain valuable insight from community leaders and incorporate some of their practices into our own organization. We restructured the club, giving out specific tasks to encourage involvement from others, and became more organized by incorporating agendas, Powerpoints, and weekly officer meetings. We also began advertising ourselves, both on campus by tabling at events and online by creating a presence via social media. In the first few weeks of the fall 2014 semester, we had already tripled our membership.

 

I learned so many valuable lessons from my time with the World Travelers. The responsibilities of my position taught me how to become more organized and dependable. I began to grasp the importance of managing time wisely and avoiding procrastination. I became more aware of maintaining a professional image, and how everything I do or say reflects not only on me but on the club and even the college as well. I learned to speak with clarity to avoid miscommunication.  I became much more comfortable with public speaking. I had countless opportunities to identify and overcome challenges, from increasing member involvement to working together to resolve disagreements. One of the biggest challenges for me was learning to work with people whose personalities and leadership styles differed from my own. Our group was quite diverse. Some people were shy, quiet, or serious. Others were more humorous or assertive. I learned to be more patient and open to understanding other points of view.  I learned to be more vocal in expressing my own beliefs and rationale. I also learned how to compromise, and be satisfied with the fact that just because someone does something different than the way I would do it doesn’t mean it won’t be successful. Essentially, I learned to trust in the other members of my team.

 

It was truly the combined effort of the group with the foundation of our leadership that led to our success. We were able to organize several successful fundraisers for members studying abroad. We attended international-related events on campus and volunteered together frequently. We hosted a scholarship essay writing workshop whereafter two members in attendance received scholarships toward their respective trips. I co-presented a session with other World Travelers officers at the 2015 Florida International Leadership Conference on managing a successful globally-oriented student organization, which received highly positive reviews afterward. Along the way, I have observed my fellow club members achieve outstanding personal growth, develop a passion for international education, and build close friendships with one another. Many of the students have thanked me personally for reaching out to get them involved in something especially meaningful. Seeing them blossom into dedicated, globally-conscious individuals has been overwhelmingly fulfilling. Never before have I felt such a strong sense of purpose to my actions, and I am confident that I will always cherish these moments from Santa Fe.