Cultural Vistas CEO Reiterates the Importance of In-Person Experiences in Global Professional Development
Jennifer Clinton, CEO of Cultural Vistas which is a Gateway programs collaborator, emphasizes the benefits of face-to-face work and professional development for students, recent graduates and professionals. In a 2020 interview with the University of Southern California’s Center on Public Diplomacy (https://uscpublicdiplomacy.org/story/qa-cpd-jennifer-clinton), Clinton reflects on balancing the realities of temporary measures to address challenges posed by Covid with the need for thinking creatively about how to return to in-person experiences as necessary and vital aspects of individual and group professional development: “…there are some interactions and experiences that cannot be fully replicated online,” she explains.
In the nearly three years since Clinton described the challenges for global experiential programming caused by Covid, we are seeing a renewed appreciation for the direct values of organized global experience programs and growing optimism that the return to in-person work and professional collaboration presents exciting new opportunities. As Clinton explains:
“Work-based, global learning opportunities are no longer a ‘nice-to-have.’ They are a must. We believe the opportunity to participate in an international internship—particularly one that provides exposure to a
new language and culture, and strengthens skills such as adaptability, empathy and resilience, will only grow in importance as a necessary complement to one’s education and career pursuits.”
