The World Comes to EXPLO
Educational consultants and referral agents from around the world consider EXPLO to be the most diverse program of its kind, confirming our belief of why a summer experience with the global community we provide is so beneficial, educational, and important.
An Interconnected World
The world is connected like never before. What happens in Europe affects what happens in Asia. What happens in the Middle East affects the United States. If someone is going to be successful solving problems — environmental, diplomatic, financial, scientific, business, and so many others — he or she will have to be comfortable working and collaborating with people from a variety of different cultures and backgrounds.
Learning to move comfortably amongst very diverse groups can be difficult if you don't spend time with people much different from yourself. But it's a skill that will serve you well in the future and you can develop and sharpen it at EXPLO.
Make Friends from Around the World
Just as the courses and choices at EXPLO are tremendously diverse, so too are the students. From more than 40 states and 50 countries, with a broad range of backgrounds, our students are interested in everything from music to genetics, from 3-D art to archeology, from game theory to hip hop dance.
The EXPLO experience is exciting and intense; it fosters incredible friendships. Our students are friendly and warm and are one of the keys to our welcoming and supportive community. We recently started interviewing many of our 50,000+ alumni, and the one thing we continue to hear — even from people who attended 30 years ago — is, “my closest friends are from EXPLO.”
Unmatched Diversity
We have learned through research — both formal and informal — that families do not always prioritize diversity when initiating their summer program search, but once a student returns from a summer at EXPLO, the diversity of our student body is one of the things both students and families value most most highly.
Having the opportunity to interact in myriad ways with a worldwide population is a profound and unique experience for young people at this stage in their lives. Learning how to work, play, and live with people different from us has never been more important. EXPLO provides that opportunity to students in a way that is intentional and educational, while remaining spontaneous, casual, and fun.
Our Students Celebrate Difference + Relish Community
Spending a summer at EXPLO provides precious early access to a global community — before students attend boarding school, college, or enter the work force. For most of our students, EXPLO provides the first opportunity to get to know so many different types of people, from so many unique places, with so many interesting backgrounds and stories to tell.
As is the case throughout the EXPLO experience, when it comes to living globally, our students learn by doing. They share classes, living space, activities, trips, and captivating mealtime conversation with young people from six continents. As a result, EXPLO alumni return to their hometowns and cities invigorated with new perspectives. Our students become leaders back home and in their futures — both outright and by example. They learn, earlier than most, how to engage with difference and see others as individuals, not stereotypes.
