For me, international travel has never been simply about visiting new places—it has been about deepening cultural understanding, broadening psychological perspectives, and creating meaningful educational experiences that cannot be replicated in a classroom.

 

My commitment to cultural immersion began during my doctoral training in clinical psychology. While developing a dissertation on mindfulness-based interventions for adolescent substance use, I was encouraged by the late Dr. G. Alan Marlatt, a pioneer in addiction research, to participate in a traditional 10-day Vipassana meditation retreat. Rather than attending a retreat close to home, I chose to travel to Dharamsala, India, where I immersed myself in the practice while exploring Northern India. That experience fundamentally shaped my appreciation for learning through direct cultural engagement and continues to influence my teaching today.

 

As a first-generation college graduate, I have always believed that transformative educational experiences should be accessible to students from diverse backgrounds. Throughout my academic career, I have developed and led international cultural immersion programs designed to combine psychology, history, culture, and experiential learning.

 

Over the past decade, I have co-developed and led multiple international programs for undergraduate and doctoral students through the University of Washington and Northwest University. These programs have taken students throughout Europe and the Middle East, integrating classroom instruction with lectures from international scholars, museums, historical sites, and community leaders.

 

Rather than viewing travel as separate from education, I believe that authentic learning occurs when students engage directly with the people, histories, and cultures they are studying. Whether discussing the psychology of trauma at Holocaust memorials, exploring the foundations of psychoanalysis in Vienna, examining the effects of communism in Central Europe, or learning about family systems and reconciliation efforts in Israel and Palestine, students are challenged to think critically, reflect deeply, and develop greater cultural humility.