"In Japanese, there is a word kikkake, which means 'the reason for starting something' or 'the story behind it.' It refers to a moment that defines your life in ways often unseen or unanticipated. Studying abroad was most certainly a kikkake in my career in international education, and it continues to impact how I think, how I view myself, and how I interact with others every single day."

Ermida Koduah and Jasmine Oduro are cousins, travelers, bloggers, and together they run the site, Being Black In, which features stories from a number of AC alumni, including Ms. Koduah.

The first time he applied for an international exchange program, 17-year-old Carlo Aragon didn’t realize he was starting down a path toward a career in the US Foreign Service. He was in high school, at a meeting of the international club, when  he heard about the National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y). The president of the extracurricular club at the time had just returned from a summer studying Arabic in Egypt and recommended that Carlo apply for the State Department scholarship program.