Kayla Ryan is going global. The Huntington High School senior is signing on with LIU Global for the next four years as she goes about pursuing an undergraduate degree in as many as eight different countries.
Billed as the “only college in the world that combines full-time immersion into foreign countries and cultures with structured classroom instruction, field study, internships and community service,” LIU Global meets all of Ms. Ryan’s educational needs and career interests.
The Huntington senior will be pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Global Studies degree. “The curriculum integrates classroom learning with real-world experience from day one, emphasizing development of global leadership skills,” according to the LIU Global website. “Central to the program is language immersion and studying cultural, geographic, environmental, and political aspects of key regions of the world.”
After considering her options, Ms. Ryan concluded the LIU Global was exactly what she wanted. “It gives me the opportunity to live and study in different countries all around the world instead of staying in the same place for four years,” she said. “The program has set countries I will be living in.”
The teenager has traveled across the world on private trips with classmates and Huntington High School social studies teacher Camille, Tedeschi, who leads such treks for EF Tours. Ms. Ryan and Ms. Tedeschi has a very close relationship and have worked on many projects over the years, including the rejuvenation of the high school’s Interact club.
Huntington senior Kayla Ryan.
“Kayla is a traveler and not a tourist,” Ms. Tedeschi said. “I have taught Kayla for three years in a row and this year she is my intern. I know her extremely well and we share an obsession with the world around us. I am going to miss seeing her every day when she graduates. I have traveled with Kayla to many places including Italy, Greece, Turkey, Peru, Tanzania and Costa Rica. This year we will add two more places to our list; the Galapagos Islands and Ireland. As I anxiously awaited her college acceptance, I am now envious of her official acceptance into LIU Global. It is a cutting edge program in developing global citizens. Each semester Kayla will embark on a journey to experience life in a foreign destination.”
Ms. Ryan can’t wait for her college adventure to begin. “The first year I will be living in Costa Rica with travels to Nicaragua and Panama,” she said. “Sophomore year I will be living in Madrid and Florence with travels to Germany, France, Bosnia, Morocco and London. Then junior year I will be living in Australia and Thailand with travels to Indonesia and Fiji. Senior year first semester I will have an internship semester where I can pick any of the LIU Global locations to live at and the last semester I will be concluding my studies in New York.”
The teenager is already considering the possibility of going to law school and studying to become a human rights lawyer. Ms. Ryan is a fine student and a popular classmate. She’s always up for a new challenge.
“I heard about this program my sophomore year and have since joked by saying it was made for me,” Ms. Ryan said. “I have always had a desire to see the world and this program allows me to study and live in multiple countries. I have traveled a lot for a kid my age, but there are still so many cultures and places out there I have absolutely no clue about. If it wasn’t for the trips with Ms.Tedeschi and my family, I wouldn’t be doing this program. Over the last few years, I have been to Peru, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Costa Rica, Tanzania, Iceland and France. Every time I travel I truly feel like I come home a better person than when I left. Being able to experience and learn about other cultures is one of my passions and I can’t wait to continue to travel and explore different countries all around the world.”
LIU Global’s service learning components were a big draw for Ms. Ryan. “After volunteering Tanzania over the summer I knew that I definitely wanted to be able to continue to volunteer around the world, which made the decision to pick LIU Global extremely easy for me,” she said.
As her time in high school grows shorter, Ms. Ryan is continuing to make her mark, even as she turns her attention to the future, including college and beyond.
“Kayla is going to leave high school already experiencing the world in a way most people can only dream of,” Ms. Tedeschi said. “I am so proud of her accomplishments and achievements. She often says she is not interested in becoming a teacher, but she definitely has what it takes to be an amazing educator and I hope all of her globe trekking brings her closer to the profession. I look forward to seeing Kayla’s future adventures and I know she is going to take advantage of every opportunity that she can in every place she visits and gets the privilege of calling her home.”
