49 episodes listed below
The working side of study abroad and international education
Brooke Roberts interviews study abroad leaders and international education staff, from Rich Kurtzman of Barcelona Study Abroad Experience to John Christian, president and CEO of CAPA. The conversations cover program design, the cuts providers made after students were sent home in 2020, and advice for anyone building a career in the field.
PRESS PLAY
Inside Study Abroad & Global Education is Brooke Roberts's show about the people and decisions behind international education. Her guests build study abroad programs, lead provider organizations and work with international students on campus. The throwback series is the best way in. An interview recorded years earlier airs first, and a new conversation with the same guest follows as its own episode. John Christian, president and CEO of CAPA, the Global Education Network, appears in '050: Small Town to Big Time in Study Abroad with John Christian of CAPA [Throwback Series]' and again in '051: Making Hard Decisions in Study Abroad Leadership with John Christian - Part 2', where Roberts introduces him as the show's first returning guest, sort of. In the older interview he recalls studying in London and wanting to go again but being unable to afford it. So he wrote to a director of international education from a Cape Cod beach where he was waiting tables. His advice to newcomers is concrete: read about the field, go to conferences if the budget allows, use online events if it does not, and write when there is something to say. In the follow-up he describes pay cuts shared across CAPA and a run of hoped-for restarts that kept slipping, ending in a spring 2021 term with a sliver of its usual enrollment. Rich Kurtzman of Barcelona Study Abroad Experience gets the same two-part treatment. His older interview comes with an apology from the host: it was recorded outdoors, beside a water feature, without microphones. It is mostly about program design. Kurtzman wants students to see a typical meal or festival, not only the tourist sights. He also describes cultural encounters, tasks that send students to an open-air market, a grocery store and a corner store to work out how they differ. His later conversation goes back to March 2020: getting students onto planes home, thinking through partner institutions and finances, and letting go of staff, some of whom had been there for years. Other guests move beyond outbound study. Jody Pritt calls immigration compliance a huge bear that her work tries to keep secondary to a student's academic experience. She also talks about giving newer professionals the practical basics and then asking how they want to shape the work. Rhondine Petrof, in '049: Study in Belize and Building Study Abroad in a Small Country with Rhondine Petrof', talks about moving into online education, including training aimed at faculty. Roberts keeps things light, joking about being an 80s kid and asking Christian whether CAPA is getting on TikTok. Closings often carry promotion: host-read spots for Kajabi and Audible, and invitations to the Global Pro Institute, her cohort program of training and coaching. Several episodes end the same way, with a reminder that every day a dream is postponed weakens it a little.
Made for: Suits a listener who works in study abroad or international student support, or hopes to break in, and wants practical talk from people who run programs and make hard staffing calls.
What sets it apart: Its throwback series pairs an older interview with a later follow-up featuring the same guest. A listener hears a program leader describe the work, then hear the same person, years on, describe what the shutdowns that began in 2020 did to it.
Demystifying study abroad and global learning for aspiring + thriving global education professionals.Through solo shows and fun interviews, we talk about all things global education and the latest news, trends, and challenges facing the international education industry. If you're ready to geek out on all things global ed, you've come to the right place. Hosted by Brooke Roberts (@thenewdorothy), a 20+ year veteran of the international education industry, 5x study abroad student, and a solopreneur and digital nomad. Prepare to think, learn, and laugh a little each episode.
Eleven students instead of 1,200: your seat at the table when study-abroad leaders face hard calls.
Press play if you want
Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A candid look at the people and decisions behind a study abroad company's fight to survive March 2020.
Rich Kurtzman's return to Barcelona Study Abroad Experience centers on the practical shock of March 2020: getting students home, considering partner institutions' financial and logistical strain, and deciding whether the company could survive.
A practical look at using Barcelona's everyday routines to build language practice and independence.
Inside Study Abroad's conversation with Rich Kurtzman frames Barcelona as a classroom students learn by moving through, not just a backdrop for tourist stops.
A grounded leadership conversation about keeping an international education organization afloat after enrollment collapses.
International education leadership meets its hardest version of a stress test in Brooke Roberts' conversation with John Christian, president and CEO of CAPA, the Global Education Network.
John makes the case that study abroad experience can start the journey, but deeper preparation matters.
A beach letter from Cape Cod, torn from a notebook and mailed while John was waitering, gives the episode its clearest picture of persistence.
A practical look at online access and the faculty development behind meaningful study abroad.
Online education and faculty training give this single-episode review its practical center. Brooke Roberts and Rondine look at how international education groups can use online access to reach more learners, then turn toward the faculty development needed for intercultural…
A thoughtful look at compliance as part of student success, with newer professionals invited to shape the work ahead.
Jodi Pritt frames international student advising around a practical tension: immigration compliance has to be handled, but it should not become the whole student experience.
Héctor and Beto dissect Mexican grammar, slang, and news in native-speed Spanish conversations.
Small habit changes meet hands-on AI experiments.
["Rich Kurtzman says Barcelona Study Abroad Experience began in 2009 with one person and eight students, then grew into a larger Barcelona-only provider by its 10-year anniversary in 2019.", "He explains how BSAE uses homestays, intercambios, a 100-item bucket list, neighborhood guides, and small mentor groups of 10 to 12 students to push integration beyond the study-abroad bubble.", "Kurtzman details Todos, BSAE\u2019s diversity outreach effort, plus the Peoples of Spain program, Raval tours, and training for staff and homestays around intercultural expectations.", "He also recounts March 2020, when more than 200 students had to leave Barcelona, and says the pandemic forced BSAE to apply the Pareto principle and cut low-value work and underfilled programs."]
Inside Study Abroad episode 53 revisits a throwback interview with Rich Kurtzman, founder and executive director of Barcelona Study Abroad Experience, about study abroad in Barcelona, Spain.
John Christian, president and CEO of CAPA, traces the organization from SUNY Oswego and NETC roots to a global network of study centers in London, Florence, Sydney, Beijing, Shanghai, and Dublin.
["Inside Study Abroad episode 50 revisits a 2012 conversation with John Christian, president and CEO of CAPA International Education, as part of Brooke Roberts' Throwback Series.", "Christian explains how a friend who had studied in London, a garage sale, and a $3,800 program helped launch his own path into study abroad from upstate New York.", "He says applicants need more than a study abroad stamp: reading, conference participation, blogging, and a working knowledge of best practices, access, and program design now matter.", "The episode also covers CAPA's $200,000 gift to SUNY Oswego, including scholarships for London and Beijing plus faculty development for internationalizing curriculum."]
Inside Study Abroad episode 49 centers on Belize as a multilingual study-abroad site, where Rondine Petroff says students encounter English, Spanish, three Maya languages, Garifuna, Creole, Mandarin, Indian languages, and Low German.
Brooke Roberts interviews Jodi Pritt, Director of International Student and Scholar Services at Georgia State University, about supporting international students during COVID-19-era uncertainty.
Rebecca Hansen, assistant director of international admissions at Northern Kentucky University, explains how recruiters attract applicants, manage relationships, and guide students from inquiry to orientation.
Tara Harvey of True North Intercultural explains how international education experiences can become intercultural learning through intentional facilitation rather than travel alone.
Brooke Roberts traces Inside Study Abroad from a February 2009 Blogger project created while she built Semester of Global Programs at the University of South Dakota without a study-abroad budget.
Brooke Roberts and Sam Cooper examine how “study abroad,” “education abroad,” “global learning,” and “student mobility” describe changing international education work.
An interview with Sam Cooper about her career trajectory in international education, starting from her own study abroad experience.
The hosts discuss whether to pursue graduate school or gain experience first for a career in international education.
Host Brooke Roberts discusses updates and the uncertain future of study abroad in 2021 due to the pandemic.