Expanding the Circle

Hi everyone!
For those of you reading this, I was in the GE London program in the summer of 2019. I spent my internship at a Drug and Alcohol Addiction Wellbeing Service and the professional experience I earned has been invaluable to my professional development. However, I want to make this review about the social climate found in the GE program, since the social aspects of my time here have been just as impactful.
A misconstrued idea I would like to dismiss would be that these programs tend to favour extroverts due to extroverts tending to have an easier time meeting large groups for the first time. This was not the case at GE. Not only was there actually a great balance of those who socialize easily and those who don't engage as easily, but the quality of the people in this program has been absolutely amazing; from the GE participants to the staff. Every participant that I've met has exposed me to a myriad of new ideas, constantly expanding and, more importantly, challenging some of my views. This leads to a stimulating environment where everyone has a mutual genuine interest in the other participants. A sort of cultural and experiential cocktail, if you will.
If I had to say there is one common thread that GE nails with their participants, it's that they find young adults with the desire to learn and feeling fine with being uncomfortable. This leads to friends that don't back down from growing and taking chances.
Looking back at my time here, I can't help but smile thinking about the amazing life-long companions I've met and the memories that we'll one day refer to as "the good ol' days". To end this, I wanted to mention a quote from one of my closest friends on the trip. I had asked her if she was going to miss London and she simply said, "You know, I think that when we expand our circles in life, we always end up missing some part of it. Instead of constantly missing the parts we're not in, I just recognize it's a testament to the amazing times we've had here and the people we've met. That is enough for me."
Whether you're a parent deciding to send your child on this program or a prospective GE intern, this program is an amazing choice. The people you meet and eventually build lasting relationships with will help to build you up as a global citizen, which is something very few people can bring to the table.