Beth Santos is founder and CEO of Wanderful, a global network for adventurous, independent women travelers. She is a recently transplant to Boston from Chicago and can be swayed to do pretty much anything if offered chocolate peanut butter ice cream.

Kyle Carey has lived in Alaska, New England, Cape Breton, Ireland, Scotland, and New York. From these experiences, she is forging music she calls Gaelic Americana, a mix that draws on music of the Appalachian south and wider American folk story as much as it does on musical traditions of Ireland and, especially, Scotland. 

Steve Moraco believes students should get to travel the world instead of sitting in lecture halls and going into debt. He founded the Abroad Academy to support, encourage, and inform students who want to travel. It works by equipping students with the skills, mindset, and resources they need to receive scholarships, garner social support, and practice persistence as they work toward their goals.

Laura Breshock is the Donor Relations Coordinator at Pike Place Market Foundation in Seattle, Washington. She graduated from Linfield College (Oregon) in 2014 with a BA in History. During her undergrad, she traveled to Oslo, Norway for her study abroad, where she studied cultural education. She graduated from King’s College London in 2016 with a MA in Creative and Cultural Industries. She is interested in music, art, and history. She is currently saving up so she can travel again.

In graduate school, a friend of mine had just returned from studying in Malaysia for a year. Her stories of the culture, food, and living there entranced me (yes, even the durian). Since then, I advise study abroad students who want a unique experience to look at programs in Malaysia (you included!).

You’re investing a great deal of time, energy, and money preparing for your study abroad journey – and it seems that the list of things to do and buy still is endless. But it doesn’t have to be that way – and it doesn’t have to cost that much.