Life Changing

I can't say enough good things about the VIA Global Community Fellowship. I was a VIA fellow from 2012-2014, and it was one of the best decisions I've made, especially during a period of career transition in life. For the first year I taught English speaking at a local university in Yogyakarta. The second year I served as a program assistant at a prominent, local NGO called Yayasan Dian Desa, which works on appropriate technology solutions for community development, particularly in rural communities.

VIA did an incredible job in providing us fellows (who all came from very diverse, interdisciplinary backgrounds and passions) with the necessary skills to thrive within our respective programs/organizations. Throughout the two years I spent in Indonesia, I always felt that the local VIA staff (comprising Americans and local Indonesians) were there to support our growth, language learning, and orientation. I very much appreciated VIA's on-going work in forging supportive, collaborative partnerships with local leaders, schools, and NGOs.

I highly recommend the VIA fellowship program, as well as other programs in general, especially if you are looking for a smaller, intimate organization that does an excellent job in promoting healthy cross-cultural exchange and learning!