Student Travelers Are Becoming More Diverse. Is Travel Preparation Keeping Up? by Andrew Gordon | Jun 10, 2026 | Articles, Education Abroad Resources, Global Engagement Resources, Homepage Articles, Public, Support & Advising The field of global education has spent years working to diversify the population of students who participate in global learning opportunities. From the work of Diversity Abroad to the tireless commitment of hundreds of individual professionals and from field-wide campaigns like Generation Study Abroad to scholarship programs like Gilman, the field has put in the work. And while there is still work to do, these efforts have paid off. The population of students traveling globally is more representative of the rich diversity we find in colleges than ever before. This growth creates a real opportunity for institutions and global education professionals to think more intentionally about what duty of care means for students traveling with identities that carry potential unique risk — specifically students of color, students with disabilities, students of certain faiths, and LGBTQ+ students. The Gap Between Expectation and Experience Through DA Global’s Global Education Student Experience Survey, we surveyed students across more than 200 institutions about their global education experiences, from program discovery to re-entry. Over half said they didn’t think their identity would be a factor prior to enrolling in their program. They had access to resources. They had advising appointments, peer mentors, and pre-departure preparation. They felt prepared in every conventional sense of the word. And then they arrived at their program site. Once on-site, over half of those same students reported feeling stereotyped. Over half felt isolated. Nearly one-third experienced microaggressions. Almost 30% were verbally harassed at least once. The students weren’t unprepared in the logistical sense — they had their visas, their housing, their orientation packets. What many of them didn’t have was the destination-specific, identity-aware context that would have better prepared them to navigate location-specific identity dynamics. That gap — between the advising and resources students had and the preparation they actually needed — is the opportunity before our field. It’s Not Just About Structured Education Abroad Programs An observation from discussions with many of DA Global’s institutional partners over the past year is that conversations about identity and travel risk are often the domain of the global education office; and that’s not completely surprising. After all, on many campuses, global education offices manage the bulk of student travel. But student travel is broader than formal global learning programs. Global experiential learning — often sitting in a different office with different reporting lines — also oversees student travel. This includes: international internships, global fellowships, service learning, and research focused travel. And that doesn’t include the independent travel students embark on while enrolled in a formal academic program abroad. That’s a significant and diverse population of young people traveling abroad at any given time, often without the institutional support infrastructure that formal global learning programs provide — and likely without comprehensive identity-specific preparation and incident mitigation resources. Thus, if institutions consider their responsibility to extend to student participation in non-formal travel connected to a formal program as well as independent global experiential programs, providing general and identity specific preparation for all student travelers, not just those on structured programs, is of critical importance. The corporate travel sector has begun to grapple with this. Recent reports from the business travel industry show that while organizations have made progress supporting solo women travelers and employees with accessibility needs, most travel programs still lack structured support for LGBTQ+ travelers, racially marginalized employees, neurodivergent travelers, and religious minority travelers. The student travel market is navigating a similar terrain, just with younger, often less experienced travelers, in higher-stakes developmental moments. “…our responsibility is to prepare all students — and their diverse identities — for a healthy and safe experience. That’s not DEI. That’s duty of care.” Why the Identity Conversation Is Critical to Global Travel When students were asked which aspects of their identity affected them most on a daily basis during their global experience, the responses were consistent: race and ethnicity (30%), gender (18%), nationality (14%), religion (10%), and sexuality (8%). These aren’t abstract categories. They’re the lived experiences that shape a student’s wellbeing and how they are perceived, treated, and supported — or not — in a given country and context. What students said they wished they’d had is just as telling. They wanted more nuanced preparation for navigating microaggressions and stereotypes. More guidance on local cultural dynamics around race, religion, and gender. More community — not just information, but connection to others who understood their experience. That’s not a criticism of global educators at institutions or provider organizations. It’s a reflection of what destination-specific, identity-aware preparation could add to student’s global experiences that already have strong logistical foundations. This matters even more right now. Parts of the world are becoming more polarized, particularly around race, religion, gender, perceived nationality, and sexuality. Legal landscapes are shifting. Social climates of some popular destinations that were once perceived as open and navigable for students of all backgrounds, are becoming more complex. A destination that carried one set of considerations five years ago may look quite different today for a student whose identity intersects with those fault lines. Recent events in Northern Ireland and Scotland are a stark reminder of how quickly social climates can shift. None of this is a reason to pull back from global engagement. It’s a reason to go deeper on what preparation means and to recognize that generic pre-departure frameworks weren’t designed for this level of specificity or this rate of change. Identity and Duty of Care in an Anti-DEI Environment I’d be remiss if I didn’t note the elephant in the room. We’re talking about identity in an environment where to some, any discussion of a student’s identity can be seen as taboo. While the current climate around DEI may give some pause, it doesn’t relieve us of our responsibility. Identity is a reality. Some students are Black. Some are Christian or Muslim. Some are gay. Some have both visible and hidden disabilities. I can go on. The point is, how the world treats people of certain backgrounds can have a direct impact on their physical, mental, and emotional well-being. We know this. And if we say we want all students to have access to high-impact learning experiences abroad, then our responsibility is to prepare all students — and their diverse identities — for a healthy and safe experience. That’s not DEI. That’s duty of care. “The research suggests that there is a gap. Students arrive thinking their identity won’t be a factor. Many find out it is.” The Harder Questions So what does truly personalized preparation actually look like and is the field — those who look after student global mobility in its broadest sense — getting there? We can’t ask these questions without an honest assessment of where the field is right now. Many offices are working with fewer staff while managing increases in student interest and need for personalized support. Global travel risk offices, also with staffing constraints, often oversee campus travel as a whole, not just global learning. With limited staff bandwidth and students traveling across dozens of countries at various times throughout the year, the need for identity-aware support is recognized, but it’s also genuinely hard to scale. A pre-departure orientation can cover a lot of ground but it can’t cover everything for everyone. And the honest question the field needs to sit with is whether we’ve quietly settled for good enough when it comes to preparation — not because the desire to do more isn’t there — it is — but in today’s landscape, doing more can feel logistically impossible. A few questions we can ask, both at an institutional and individual level: Have we defaulted to “our campus hasn’t had an incident” as a proxy for “our students are well-prepared”? Have we assumed that because resources exist, students know how to use them — and that the resources we have match the questions students are actually asking once they’re on the ground? The research suggests a gap. Students arrive thinking their identity won’t be a factor. Many find out it is. And the support they turn to most — peers, family, personal research — is largely outside the institutional infrastructure that’s been built to support their preparation and safety. Personalized preparation at scale isn’t about creating a custom advising session for every student traveling to every country. It’s about building identity-informed and destination-level insights into the existing advising infrastructure — accessible to students before they need it. It means moving beyond general health and safety frameworks to content that addresses what a student with a particular identity is likely to encounter in a particular place — the cultural dynamics, the legal landscape, the social context, the community resources. And it means building in identity-specific preparation as a standard part of the experience, not an add-on for students who ask. That design challenge is part of what shaped how we built BeGlobali, including in-depth country culture and belonging insights and general and identity-specific health and safety training, all available to students on their devices. The goal wasn’t to replace the advising relationship. It was to extend it and to give students access to layered, destination-specific, identity-aware context that scales in ways that time-strapped global education offices rarely have the capacity to do. Or, to allow global offices to leverage in-depth asynchronous pre-departure training for general health and safety topics, freeing up time for deeper one-on-one advising or live — synchronous or in-person — sessions that explore topics of culture, identity, and belonging. The Larger Opportunity The diversification of the global student traveler is an exciting shift. It’s one our field has and continues to work toward. We’ve invested in recruitment, scholarships, and professional development to make this happen. Now, the profile of student travelers is more diverse. At the same time the world has become more complex. This moment calls for us to invest more deeply in our people and infrastructure to ensure student travelers of all backgrounds are prepared to travel as their full selves, which will position them for success — academically, professionally, and from a health and safety lens. Andrew Gordon is an award-winning social impact entrepreneur and leading voice in global education, edtech, inclusive student success and workforce development. As founder of DA Global Access Network, an educational consortium and strategic partner advancing access to global opportunities, he has spent nearly two decades helping higher education institutions strengthen academic achievement, career readiness and institutional impact through access to global education. Learn more about Andrew.
What the Field Is Telling Us: 10 Takeaways from Spring 2026 Conference Season by Andrew Gordon | Apr 20, 2026 | Articles, Homepage Articles, News & Updates, Public By Andrew Gordon, April 20, 2026 Every spring, the international education conference season offers a chance to step back from the day-to-day operations and take stock of where the field actually stands. This spring was no different, except in all the ways it was. I attended the Association of International Education Administrators (AIEA) Conference in Washington, D.C. and the Forum on Education Abroad Conference. And then there was the Global Impact 2026 – MENA — which we had to postpone due to the war in Iran and its impact on the region. More on that below. Three conferences. Two attended. One postponed. All of them clarifying. Here’s what I’m taking away from this season. 1. Forces outside our control are part of the work. Global Impact MENA was scheduled to take place in Abu Dhabi in collaboration with NYU Abu Dhabi. We had planned, had a phenomenal speaker lineup, and were ready. And then the geopolitical situation in the region made it impossible to move forward responsibly. We made the decision to postpone, with a full commitment to return to the MENA region. What it reminded me — what it reminded all of us — is that international education doesn’t operate in a vacuum. We experienced this with COVID, the Great Financial Crisis, Brexit, … the list goes on. We’re experiencing it now with a global political climate that is anything but stable. No matter how well we plan, there are forces outside our control that will impact this work. Building that reality into how we operate isn’t pessimism. It’s professionalism. And it positions us to be nimble and ready to pivot in a way that allows us to still deliver global learning experiences for our students and colleagues despite geopolitics or other forces that have much greater control of our work than we would like. 2. There is a whole new crop of professionals in this field. I’ve attended AIEA and Forum many times over the years. I usually walk into a room at these conferences and know a significant portion of the room. This year was different. New faces and noticeably fresh perspectives on the work. It’s genuinely exciting. Newer professionals are forming their views about what international education is, what it should accomplish, and how it should be practiced. The field’s next decade will be shaped in large part by what new professionals learn in these spaces, and by the mentors and organizations who invest in their development. Mentorship and early professional development – for new professionals at all levels – in these spaces are how institutional knowledge gets transferred and how collectively we move the sector forward 3. The leadership pipeline requires intentional structure and mentorship is part of that. Growing emerging professionals into directors, SIOs, and senior decision-makers doesn’t happen organically. It requires intentional investment of time and resources. And when I look at how much more professionally and perspectivally diverse AIEA has become since my first conference there in 2009 — more directors at the table, more diverse voices in senior roles, a broader range of institutional representation — it’s clear that intentional investment works. Mentorship is central to that story. Not formal mentorship programs alone, but sustained, honest, relationship-driven investment that moves someone from their first NAFSA conference to a senior leadership role. If you’re a senior professional and you’re not actively mentoring, either formally or informally, now is a time to explore how you can leverage your immense experience and insights to ensure our field has the foundation to grow in its impact on students, institutions, and the communities we serve around the world. 4. Intergenerational learning is an underused asset at every conference table Walk into any major international education conference and you easily have four generations in the same room. Professionals who built this field decades ago alongside professionals attending their first conference this spring. That is an enormous knowledge resource, and we as a field largely leave it untapped. The same cross-functional collaboration we advocate for on campuses applies to our own professional development spaces. The veteran SIO and the first-year advisor have things to teach each other that no keynote can replicate. Conference organizers and professional associations should be designing for that deliberate exchange, structured intergenerational sessions, mentorship meetups, programming that puts experienced professionals in dialogue rather than parallel tracks. 5. We call ourselves global. Our conferences are largely US-focused. The dominant conversations at both AIEA and Forum centered on U.S. institutions, US policy, US student populations, and US professional practice. That is understandable, these are US-based organizations serving primarily US-based professionals. But the gap between how we describe our work and the actual geographic scope of our professional learning is real. Organizations can host events in other regions — we’ve done this with Global Impact and other organizations do this as well — but that’s not the same as large events branded as ‘global’, truly speaking to a global audience. At DA Global, we think about this actively with Global Impact – North America. Building a conference that genuinely reflects the global nature of our work — not just in attendance but in content, perspective, and framing — is harder than it sounds. It means deliberately decentering the US experience even when most of your attendees are US based. It also means working to diversify the content when the call for proposals process produces proposals that center the U.S. It’s a work in progress. We don’t always get it right, nobody does. But it’s a design standard that the field should continue to work toward. 6. Silos are still the enemy. Conference season has a way of reinforcing this point. International educators gather with international educators. Career services professionals gather with career services professionals. The cross-functional conversations that could shift how global learning is integrated into broader student outcomes frameworks largely aren’t happening, at least not at the scale it should. This is precisely why Global Impact exists. “Where Global Engagement and Student Success Meet” isn’t just a tagline, it’s a response to a structural gap in how the field learns and collaborates. When global learning operates in its own lane, disconnected from academic advising, career development, and institutional retention strategy, its impact on students is limited, and its case to campus leadership becomes harder to make. 7. The field is more technologically aware, but we are divided. At both AIEA and Forum, technology was a consistent theme throughout the conversation. Artificial intelligence, digital credentialing, virtual global programs, data infrastructure. The field is paying attention. And it’s innovating, new models for international student support, new approaches to scaling study abroad, new ways of credentialing global competencies that connect global competencies to employer language. But there’s a real divide emerging between practitioners who are leaning into these tools and those who view them with skepticism, worried that technology is displacing the human-centered relationships that have direct student impact and which have drawn so many to our field. Both of these responses make sense. The opportunity is to hold them together, using technology to expand access and scale operations while protecting the advising relationships and experiential depth that define high-impact global learning. One thing is clear: standing still isn’t an option. Whether we like it or not, technology is here to stay and all indicators point to expanded use in higher education. 8. Inclusive practice remains a growth area — and the field is finding new language for it. There is still a significant appetite in the field for learning around inclusive practices. That appetite is appropriate because the students we serve are increasingly diverse across every dimension of identity and professional preparation hasn’t always kept pace with that reality. What’s shifted is how the conversation is being framed.The language. With the legal and political challenges to traditional DEI frameworks, many professionals are approaching this work through a more pragmatic lens, centering student and professional well-being, access to opportunity, and measurable outcomes rather than the language and structures that have come under fire. How is the field approaching this changed landscape? In conversations with colleagues at all levels within international education I’ve ascertained the following: on one hand, there are professionals who have dedicated their careers to traditional DEI frameworks in global education and view any deviation from such approaches as capitulation. On the other hand, you have professionals who were never truly comfortable with the DEI framework of the past, but reluctantly supported them, and now feel a bit of relief that past approaches to identity are being phased out. And still, you have the majority who are in the middle, not activists for this work, but value the need for inclusive practices and strategies to support students and colleagues of all backgrounds. What’s the right approach to inclusive practices? There doesn’t seem to be a consensus and much will depend on which of the three buckets one — or their employer — falls into. What I do know is that in the U.S. hundreds of thousands of students participate in inbound/outbound mobility programs, students increasingly hold various identities that impact their experiences, and despite millions of dollars spent in scholarships, the access gaps haven’t closed. This is true in the U.S. and other parts of the world. So, whatever language or frameworks we use, the work to ensure all students can access and benefit from global learning still needs to be done. 9. Clarity, even when it's hard, is better than uncertainty. We are operating in a genuinely difficult moment, politically, financially, institutionally. The professionals I found most grounded this season were not the ones with the easiest circumstances. They were the ones who had looked clearly at their institutional situation, budget constraints, political headwinds, shifting enrollment, and made deliberate and pragmatic choices about where to focus and what to let go. Uncertainty is its own kind of operational paralysis. When teams don’t know where things stand, it’s difficult to move forward. Leaders who communicate clearly — internally and externally with partners and vendors —, about budget realities, about what programs can and can’t deliver, about where the institution is headed, create the conditions for their teams to act with clarity and important relationships are maintained. That directness is a professional skill. However, from my conversations at recent conferences, this is a skill some feel uncomfortable with. As we continue to navigate uncertainty, the better we all become with clear communication, the better positioned our field will be to not just survive, but thrive. 10. We are bringing more of ourselves to this work. This one surprised me most. Across sessions, hallways, and dinners, I noticed something different in the texture of professional conversation. People are sharing more, not just ideas, but experiences. Grief. Institutional struggle. Personal challenge. The loss of colleagues. The weight of navigating hard seasons professionally and personally. The lines between professional and personal have always been blurry in a field this small and this relationship-driven. But something feels like it’s shifted. People are willing to show up more fully and more honestly than before. I don’t think that’s a problem. I think it’s a sign of a field that is, in its own way, growing up. We’re still figuring out what those boundaries look like. But the willingness to be human with each other, especially in a field that asks us to bridge human difference for a living, feels right. Spring 2026 was a lot. It always is. This summer I’ll be in Madrid for the International Internship Conference and Boston for a health and safety conference. Fall will bring me to EAIE, Global Impact 2026 North America in Atlanta, and a handful of other spaces. I’ll be back with my pulse on the field from a conference lens at that point — if not before. In the meantime, I hope to see you at Global Impact 2026 North America this November 4-6 as we tackle how a cross-functional approach to global learning will increase the impact of our work on student success and career readiness. Andrew Gordon is an award-winning social impact entrepreneur and leading voice in global education, edtech, inclusive student success and workforce development. As founder of DA Global Access Network, an educational consortium and strategic partner advancing access to global opportunities, he has spent nearly two decades helping higher education institutions strengthen academic achievement, career readiness and institutional impact through access to global education.
A Year of Change, Challenges, and Opportunity by Andrew Gordon | Oct 26, 2025 | Articles, News & Updates, Public This week we kick off Global Impact 2025 in Minneapolis. It’s been almost exactly one year since the DA Global community met in person in the U.S. In October 2024 nearly 600 professionals gathered in Washington D.C., for our 12th annual conference, which had been known as the Global Inclusion Conference. A year later, it’s not hyperbole to say there are tectonic shifts that have taken place in the U.S. and globally that are leading to monumental impacts in education and beyond. As I gear up for the 13th edition of Global Impact, which will take place this week in Minneapolis, there are three words I would use to describe the state of DA Global and our field as a whole: change, challenge, and opportunity. What’s Changed? After operating as Diversity Abroad for almost nineteen years, in February 2025 we rebranded to DA Global Access Network or simply DA Global. We didn’t make this decision lightly; after all, changing a brand after nearly two decades has its risks. Still, the time was right. We had grown from our roots as an organization solely focused on increasing access to the benefits of education abroad for historically underserved students, to a strategic partner for higher education institutions and organizations around the globe focused on aligning access to global education to the priorities and outcomes that matter: student success, career readiness, and institutional impact. Diversity Abroad is our foundation; DA Global is our evolution and our future. We codified our work into four areas of practice: Strategy & Alignment, Access & Opportunity, Technology & Digital Innovation, and People Development & Success. Our former name simply no longer fit who we had become. Our rebrand is a recognition of who we are today and the impact we aim to have on the higher education sector in collaboration with our partners around the world. We’re not alone in that evolution. Across the sector, change is constant. There’s been a growing wave of mergers and acquisitions—particularly among education abroad providers and EdTech companies. Offices are rebranding to reflect broader, more strategic scopes. Geopolitical realities are shifting old alliances and opening doors to new ones. And, as in every era, the students have changed. Today’s students grew up with technology and social media first. They’re socially conscious and questioning the value of traditional higher education. At the same time, they’re part of the COVID generation, and both they and we are still navigating how years of isolation have shaped how they show up in higher education and beyond. “The only thing that is constant is change.” We’re experiencing this firsthand. And of course, with change comes new challenges. The Challenges While we’re excited about the brand and direction, this past year hasn’t been without its challenges for DA Global and the field as a whole. First, and not surprisingly, we’ve experienced disruption as institutions navigate numerous changes to U.S. state and federal policies. While DA Global is a different organization, our legacy as Diversity Abroad has made some partners cautious about working with us. Call it an abundance of caution—or over-compliance driven by uncertainty in the law. In conversations with colleagues what has become abundantly clear is that fear is a dominant factor in these decisions. We get it. And it’s messy trying to operate in a new and ambiguous policy landscape with seemingly endless changes. We’re trying to adapt in real time and navigate this new terrain with thoughtfulness and flexibility, because that’s what this moment requires of us. It’s not just us. And as we don’t receive direct government funding, we have more agency on how we articulate our work and our programming. The same can’t be said for partners at institutions or organizations that manage government grants. We’ve seen the erasure of units and divisions that focused on inclusive practices and strategies. Once-reliable grant funding has been cut off and, in many markets across the globe, higher education is experiencing significant budget cuts. Technology is rapidly advancing with the potential to disrupt how students learn, are supported, and the staffing calculus to support it. All of this against the backdrop of unprecedented scrutiny and changes to visa regulations that have thrown international students’ dreams—along with the recruitment process and reliable funding they bring—into flux. I could easily write more about the challenges we all face in this landscape, but what keeps me hopeful are the opportunities before us. We all have the opportunity to shape the future of global education into something more inclusive, strategic, and impactful.” What Opportunities Lie Ahead I describe myself as a pragmatic optimist. And yes, there have been days this year where it feels like a struggle to have glass-half-full optimism, but here are three opportunities that I see this current landscape presenting for DA Global and our field that give me hope. First, there’s an increased focus on connecting global education to student success and career readiness. We’re not advocating that the value of global education be articulated solely in career development terms. We do, however, subscribe to the thought that, if global education is to be a meaningful part of the higher education ecosystem, then it must closely align with higher education priorities. The goals of global education cannot be disconnected from retention, persistence to graduation, and career readiness—for all students. As our field continues to collect actionable data, conduct meaningful research, share new frameworks, and build strategic relationships with career services, first-generation, and student success offices, we position ourselves as a vital link to higher education’s future success. I’m excited for how DA Global is and will continue to collaborate with its partners to see this vision become reality. Second, with challenges, there are almost always opportunities. Yes, the challenges we face are concerning, fast-changing, and broad, but the proverb “necessity is the mother of innovation” is particularly applicable in moments like these. It can be hard to think about the future and innovation while it feels like we’re playing whack-a-mole, putting out one fire after the next, but we must persist. This moment calls for innovation, creativity, and tenacity, which we are already seeing. From increased interest in transnational education (TNE) and first-year abroad programs to virtual international internships and digital advising tools that expand access, our field is finding ways to innovate to ensure all students have access to the benefits of global education. And perhaps, in an ironic way, this current environment has unmasked what the good times hid: for too many students, families, and institutions, global education — particularly place based — didn’t work for them. We have an opportunity to recommit to ensuring global education is inclusive of all students and institutions. And in today’s environment, that’s not just the morally right thing to do, it’s essential to our future. Finally, the emergence of new educational hubs, from Hong Kong to the UAE, is creating novel opportunities for engagement. Why does this matter? For too long global education has been dominated by the West, primarily English-speaking countries, sometimes dubbed the Big Four. Changing political, educational, and economic dynamics are shifting the landscape and opening opportunities for new educational hubs. This draws scholars, students, entrepreneurs, innovators and leaders to new destinations, which opens the door to nuanced educational experiences, deeper cultural understanding, and innovation. What’s Next I’m bringing these thoughts with me to Global Impact 2025. Changes and challenges are inevitable. Seeing the opportunities during trying times is a choice. It’s never easy, but often necessary. As I walk the conference floor, talk with attendees, and listen in on thought-provoking sessions, I’ll be holding both truths: the weight of this moment and the very real opportunities in front of us. Top of mind is that we’re in this together—whether you’re an institution in the U.S. or Saudi Arabia, an education-abroad provider or a recruitment agency, a nonprofit association or a consulting firm, a donor-backed NGO or a VC-backed edtech company. We all have the opportunity to shape the future of global education into something more inclusive, strategic, and impactful. I’m looking forward to the role DA Global will play—alongside you—in that future. I’ll come back to this theme before Global Impact 2026 Abu Dhabi (March 25–27) and Atlanta (November 3–6). My sense is that we’ll still be navigating change and challenges, but as a sector we’ll be that much more positive about the future and the impact we’ll have on students, institutions, and communities. Andrew Gordon is an award-winning social impact entrepreneur and leading voice in global education, edtech, inclusive student success and workforce development. As founder of DA Global Access Network, an educational consortium and strategic partner advancing access to global opportunities, he has spent nearly two decades helping higher education institutions strengthen academic achievement, career readiness and institutional impact through access to global education.
Reflections from NAFSA: Hope, Connection, and What’s Next for Global Education by Andrew Gordon | Jun 5, 2025 | Articles, Public It’s that time again—looking back at the academic year behind us and ahead to what the coming one has in store. There’s no shortage of troubling headlines, from international students facing increased visa scrutiny to attacks on lawful equity practices that help ensure global education supports academic success and career readiness for all students. But with all the negativity dominating the news cycle, I thought I’d share a few reflections, ones that left me hopeful about where we are and where we’re going. Last week I joined my DA Global colleagues in San Diego for the annual NAFSA Conference. Something felt different this year. Maybe it was me. After nearly twenty NAFSAs, the conference doesn’t hit quite the same, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. Over the years, I’ve evolved. NAFSA used to be mainly about business for me: more contacts, more partners, more members. Now, it’s become a space to reconnect with my chosen tribe. We build each other up, swap ideas, share laughs, and at times, commiserate. With everything going on in the world and its impact on our field, I needed the connection more this year than most. I get the sense I wasn’t alone in that feeling. My schedule was a mix of long-time friends and partners and a few new faces. I resisted the urge to stack six, seven, or eight receptions into one night and instead spent more quality time at fewer events. There’s no right or wrong way to do NAFSA, but this approach worked for me. I left recharged and ready for what’s ahead. And I walked away with a few observations and reminders. I’ll share three of them here. “They say necessity is the mother of invention. Well, we’re in a moment of necessity. And if what I saw last week is any indication, our field is ready to rise to the occasion.” Technology is essential, but this work is about people Walking through the exhibit hall it was clear that tech is booming. Apps, platforms, CRMs, AI tools. Many of them are impressive, and there’s no doubt technology will continue to shape our work. But no one I know got into international education because of the tech. We’re here for the people. For the smiles when students learn they’re going abroad. The pride on the faces of international students’ parents at graduation. The warm embrace from a colleague you haven’t seen since the last conference. The work of international education is about the lives our work touches. As tech’s footprint grows, we need to keep it in perspective. Let’s use it not just to streamline operations, but to deepen human connection—the real reason most of us chose this field. Challenging times often birth innovation It’s no secret that the current environment for international education isn’t easy. As a self-professed pragmatic optimist,I try my best to find the hidden opportunity in challenges. To be fair, this is often easier said than done, especially when staring down political, regulatory, and financial headwinds. Still, in my conversations in San Diego with colleagues from different roles, institutions, and countries, what stood out was the creativity. There was an acceptance of the heaviness of the moment, but people weren’t retreating; they were reimagining. The ideas were flowing—from education abroad program models and inclusive support for international students to nuanced approaches to technology and deeper collaboration with industry. That’s what our field needs. If we want to grow our impact on students, institutions, and communities, we have to keep innovating. They say necessity is the mother of invention. Well, we’re in a moment of necessity. And if what I saw last week is any indication, our field is ready to rise to the occasion. Future thinking is key In one conversation, a colleague pushed me to think bigger. She simply asked, “how are you preparing for the 2030s?” It took me a moment but then it hit me. The incoming class this fall will graduate in 2029. The 2030s are almost here. It’s easy, and at times necessary, to stay focused on the current moment. But we also have to think long-term. What does international education look like for the class of 2035? How are we positioning global learning to drive student success, career readiness, and institutional impact ten years from now? Big-picture thinking might feel like a luxury these days, but we can’t afford not to do it. Our ability to question old paradigms, invest in our own growth, and build new models—some for needs that haven’t even emerged yet—will determine how international education contributes to the broader higher ed and workforce ecosystems in the decade ahead. Conferences can be exhausting and energizing at the same time. NAFSA this year was a marathon, but I left hopeful. Hopeful for our field, for our students, and for the role DA Global can play as we prepare for the future. As we move into summer planning and gear up for the Global Impact Conference, these reflections—and the many more that came from hallway chats at receptions—will shape how I show up for the work ahead. We’ve got a lot to look forward to. Andrew Gordon is an award-winning social impact entrepreneur and leading voice in global education, edtech, inclusive student success and workforce development. As founder of DA Global Access Network, an educational consortium and strategic partner advancing access to global opportunities, he has spent nearly two decades helping higher education institutions strengthen academic achievement, career readiness and institutional impact through access to global education.
DA Global Impact Fellowships Program by Andrew Gordon | May 15, 2025 | Articles, Public Thank you for your interest in the DA Global Impact Fellowship Program. The application period for the 2025-2026 fellowship program has closed. We look forward to receiving your application for next year’s cohort once the application period opens. Please continue to check our website for updates. DA Global Impact Fellowship program is an enriching fellowship designed to support our mission to empower student academic success, career readiness, and institutional impact through access to global education. The fellowship program runs from July 2025 to June 2026. Successful applicants must be DA Global members or affiliated with an active DA Global member organization/institution. The Impact Fellowship is geared toward mid-career and senior level professionals who are eager to commit their expertise and experience to further DA Global’s mission. The fellowship program runs from July 2025 to June 2026. Successful applicants must be DA Global members or affiliated with an active DA Global member organization/institution. Fellowship Commitment: Thought Leadership: Fellows contribute bi-monthly articles, participate in or facilitate digital fireside chats, and collaborate on select publications, focusing on topics aligned with DA Global’s areas of expertise and four pillars. Conference Participation: Fellows represent DA Global at one industry conference annually, providing a platform for them to share their insights and learn from others in the field. Social Promotion: Promote their work and DA Global’s mission within their networks, enhancing the organization’s outreach and impact. Fellowship Benefits: Thought Leadership Opportunity: The fellowship offers a prominent platform for being at the forefront of thought leadership in advancing student success through access to global education. Conference Registration Support: 50% reimbursement of early registration fees for industry events where fellows represent DA Global. Networking & Learning: Quarterly collaboration calls with fellows and DA Global leadership and members from the Impact Council. Stipend: A $1,500 stipend to support the fellows’ academic and professional development. Consulting & Training: Priority consideration to work with DA Global on paid training and consulting engagements. Ideal Candidates: The program seeks individuals dedicated to fostering access to the benefits of global education for all students. Candidates should be eager to contribute to DA Global’s mission, demonstrating an ability to think critically and creatively about how to leverage access to global education to drive student success, workforce development, and institutional impact. Applicants must be DA Global members or affiliated with an active DA Global member organization/institution. How to Apply To apply, please submit the following materials: A cover letter describing your interest in the Fellowship, how your skills and experience align with the responsibilities, and how this opportunity fits into your career goals. A current résumé or CV. A writing sample (where you are the primary author). Complete the application inquiry form with your contact information. Please email all materials to admin@daglobal.org with the subject line:“[Your Last Name, First Name], DA Global Fellowship Program” Application Deadline:To be considered, please submit your application and all required materials no later than July 11, 2025. Note: Application materials are accepted by email only.
