There are internships and study abroad programs available all over the world.  Students report back that this experience is life altering.  When they return, they are more focused and clear on their career objectives.  Often this experience is a motivator to make it to the goal which is graduation.

Studentsabroad.state.gov/ is a web good site to explore.  The focus is college students studying and traveling internationally so it is also a good site for students taking a gap year for travel. This site provides tips for safe travel, instructions on what to do in an emergency, information on the location of embassies, instructions on applying for visas, even how to vote overseas.

Some dates to be aware of are the XXIX Summer Olympic Games in Beijing and also the Beijing Paralympic Summer Games.

Do you have a student that has studied or traveled abroad during their college experience?  Let other parents know what your experience has been.

Here is a good web site to have: www.securityoncampus.org

Security On Campus, Inc. has a brochure which explains to you, your parental rights to be notified if your student is involved in risky behavior. Check out this site. Type in “parent notification form” to find that particular page.

This site is not to alarm you but to give you good information. Remember, it takes a village. Lets keep the kids safe so they can finish growing up to be successful adults!

This week when I was cruising the internet doing research, I discovered a great web site that will give you the crime statistics for all major universities.  The stats for 6000 institutions of higher learning are available.

www.securityoncampus.org/crimestats/index.html

Check out the school your student attends or they are thinking of attending.

My next posting, I will tell you how to be informed if your student is involved with campus police!

This past week, I entered a new world… The World of Book Publishing. The BEA was held in Los Angeles, California. Now, I love going to Barnes and Noble or any large book store and I can spend hours perusing the aisles. The BEA was eye candy for the book lover. This was the place to meet the publishers, the sales people and the authors behind all those books we love to touch and read. It was an amazing experience. I saw so many young authors, I feel sure this next generation will provide us with plenty of good reading material. Publishing is also an amazing career for a student who is a journalist or has an interest in marketing and business that also has a love of books. It could be a good career choice.