Princeton University has announced that is exploring the creation of a program to send a tenth or more of its newly admitted students to a year of social service work in a foreign country before they set foot on campus as freshmen. Princeton’s president Shirley M. Tilghman says in this New York Times article,
that such a program would give students a more international perspective, add to their maturity and give them a break from academic pressures. She called it a year of “cleansing the palate of high school, giving them a year to regroup.”
Dr. Tilghman, speaking ahead of an announcement Tuesday, said that she hoped to begin the program in 2009 and that Princeton would not charge tuition for the year abroad, and would even offer financial assistance to those who needed it. A committee of faculty and staff members, as well as students, is to work out other details.
That’s fabulous. (You can read more about this initiative on the Princeton website.)
There are very few things in life that I would call “requirements.” However from the time my kids were very young I have told them that at some point in their lives they have to live overseas. Don’t care if it’s as a high school exchange student, a college year abroad, service as a Peace Corps volunteer, or simply extended travel. But they *must* have the experience of living outside of this country, immersed in another culture.
I am first generation American and grew up with close ties and periodic visits to family in Europe. As a teen my husband spent a year in Nicaragua with an uncle who was working there. I spent my college junior year in Germany. My husband and I were Peace Corps volunteers. Seeing and experiencing the world from another perspective, realizing that there is more than one “right” way to live, being tested by large and small every day challenges, learning what is common in the human experience, discovering what’s important and what’s not…our overseas experiences shaped who we are in the most powerful and fundamental ways.
Knock wood, but so far it looks like the brainwashing is working. Although they roll their eyes when I’m compelled yet again to ask a Whole Foods clerk if he’s from there or there in West Africa, both C. and M. have mentioned that they’d like to be Peace Corps volunteers someday. I think they get a kick when they answer the phone and my African brother intones in his unmistakable accent “This is your uncle speaking.” As a family we’ve gone on two big trips overseas and they are clamoring to go somewhere overseas, anywhere (all it takes is $$… In my fantasy life we’d spend a year travelling around the world….). C. has been asking about exchange programs since the 4th or 5th grade, and spent much of her 6th grade year researching European boarding schools (dream on, girl!). Now at 13, she’s finally getting close to the age where exchange programs are least a possibility. Things like the U.S. Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange program.
Everyone should have these opportunities, regardless of family background or income. And goodness knows we need more people with a global perspective in this country. This Princeton idea is a step in the right direction.
