My experience in Costa Rica was one of the best times of my life. Specifically, volunteering broadened my views on global healthcare. Currently, I am in medical school in Fort Worth, and I have no doubt that my volunteering experience is one of the main reasons I was accepted. Fort Worth has a large Spanish speaking population, and my prior exposure to medical Spanish with the ELAP program has been invaluable every time I've volunteered at a free health clinic with school. I was also very humbled by my volunteer experience in Costa Rica. During my last few weeks at the placement, I traveled with a few nurses to the most poor communities I've ever seen. Interacting with these people only further solidified my desire to help those less fortunate, specifically by providing healthcare.
Thanks again, and thanks to ELAP for providing me with the amazing opportunity.
Natalie Scharlach - Texas Christian University
San Jose, Costa Rica - Fall ISA + ELAP 2007
I remember how happy I was to first come across ISA's website when I was frantically searching for programs abroad, and then how much more involved and excited I became when I stumbled across ELAP. After my experience abroad, I decided to work at the Study Abroad Programs Office on campus, and recommended ELAP as first choice for anyone interested in interning abroad - and now there is an even better resource for those students!
ISA/ELAP was one of the founding experiences of my life - living in Costa Rica for four months has made me who I am today. Going abroad to study and intern is an experience that I think everyone should try; it makes you better realize your own capabilities and the worth of other cultures.
Specifically, I was able to hone my Spanish language skills to incorporate government jargon, which is helpful as I am currently in a job search involving prospective employment with government agencies. Also, practicing Spanish in the home and at work during the day led me to a level of fluency that I am proud of. I worked with my colleagues to complete projects, and in turn was able to interview them as primary sources for my undergraduate thesis about the Central American Free Trade Agreement [which in 2007 was a controversial nation-wide issue].
Interning through ELAP provided me with a way to gain an internship/work experience that I probably could not have procured on my own. I feel that my resume is effectively bolstered by this internship, and has led me to become a more valuable asset in current and prospective employment.
Currently, I live in Paris, and I would not have been confident enough to work abroad so independently if I had not first had the experience of living, studying and working abroad through ISA/ELAP. I realize I am gushing a bit, but I truly mean it when I say that experience was one of the best and most life-changing times that I have ever had.
Melissa Stone - Texas A&M University
San Jose, Costa Rica - Summer ISA + ELAP 2007
Costa Rica was an amazing time for me and I thoroughly enjoyed my work there! I learned to do phlebotomy at the clinic which I then applied immediately upon my return to the US and became a lab assistant! I then worked as an MA and added those amazing experiences to my application to medical school, where I am now.
Glenna Martin - Skidmore College
San Jose, Costa Rica - 10-week ELAP 2007
I would have to say that it definitely has impacted me in my education and future career.
My experiences in Costa Rica and working with an organization definitely guided me in deciding what to study in graduate school and I am now finishing my final semester at the Monterey Institute of International Studies studying International Policy focusing in International Development. Furthermore my language of focus is Spanish and I am looking into a career focused in the Latin American region.
During my time here at MIIS my international experience and internship definitely have enriched my studies and propelled me into an internship with the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Justin Maniar - Arizona State University
San Jose, Costa Rica - Fall ISA + ELAP 2007
It was interesting to go back and think about my time volunteering. Since I was planning to go into museum education, the time I spent at the the organization certainly helped me learn valuable skills that I could put into use when I worked as an Education Coordinator for a local museum after graduation.
However, I would definitely say that the self-reliance and ability to self motivate were the best skills I picked up. It was difficult walking into a highly professional and busy organization knowing that I didn't have the language skills to participate as fully as I would want. The support of the wonderful staff at ISA made all of the difference and in the end I felt like I had done something worthwhile.
Sarah Gamble - University of Maine, Orono
San Jose, Costa Rica - 8-week ELAP 2007
Ironically enough I am in Spain teaching English now so my experience with ELAP affected me immensely. After returning from volunteering with the ELAP program I tutored English to low-income families through the AmeriCorps program and then worked various jobs after that using the Spanish skills I'd gained during my time in Costa Rica. Just this year I found a scholarship to teach English for the year in Spain and jumped at that opportunity. It's similar to the ELAP program, in that it's assisting a teacher in the classes, the difference being with this program you receive a stipend to live on your own and the scholarship is for the school year. Back in 2006 I decided to do ELAP on a whim, because I had just graduated from college with a journalism degree and was unsure what to do with my life. I only knew I wanted to improve my Spanish. Going to Costa Rica turned out to be the perfect decision, though my parents didn't think so at the time of course, because I got placed in a school teaching elementary students and, though challenging, I loved my experience and learned so much about Costa Rican culture, about Spanish and about teaching. Thus I'm grateful for my ELAP experience.
Victoria Kelty - University of Nebraska, Lincoln
San Jose, Costa Rica - Intensive Month January + ELAP 2006