FROM VERTO EDUCATION

A fish out of water. A bike without a chain. Out to sea. A stranger in a strange land. There are many metaphors for culture shock, all of which attempt to describe the unique experience of being far from one’s home country and culture. Culture shock is defined as the feeling of disorientation experienced by…

Emily, a 2019 South Pacific Verto Alum reached out to us with an idea to help raise funds to support the efforts in Australia. We were beyond thrilled to help get her idea out to the public. Below you'll find her story and why this cause is so important to her. Please check out her…

In this post, I’ve interviewed four “first generation” Verto students. First generation students are the first in their immediate families to go to college. Meet these amazing young people who are paving the way for the future of college and study abroad: Jada Wesson is from Cleveland, Ohio. She intends to study at The Ohio…

In our last post, we detailed how to prepare for college application season starting freshman year. Once you’ve checked all those boxes, you’ll not only have your application all ready to go, you’ll also be an amazing candidate for your dream schools. Now that you’re ready to apply, it’s time to figure out WHEN to…

As you approach high school and senior year, college can totally feel like the giant elephant in the room. From the pressure of decision-making to the headache of filling out paperwork, planning for college feels like a huge and overwhelming task to tackle. How do you eat an elephant? The same way you eat a…

Verto is on a Mission to Make Higher Education Accessible, Affordable, and Achievable for All Portland, Oregon - (November 7, 2019) - Today, Verto Education, a company that has created a new freshman year abroad college program, announced $6.3 million in funding. The company will use the funding to pursue its mission to bring international…

One of the biggest challenges in the field of international education is increasing the participation of underrepresented student groups. Although data shows that study abroad is becoming more diverse, there is still a long way to go. Diversity doesn’t happen by accident. Some universities and third party providers are proving that it can be achieved…

In an episode of her podcast “On Being”, Krista Tippett interviewed Annette Gordon- Reed, author of “Most Blessed of the Patriarchs: Thomas Jefferson and the Empire of the Imagination” and Titus Kaphar, the award-winning artist whose works re- interpret history from the perspective of the unheard. At one point in the interview, Ms. Tippett asked…

Grew up on a Pineapple Farm Despite growing up on a former pineapple farm in West Palm Beach, Florida, Cody Ward didn’t eat his first pineapple until he was in his 30’s! “My parents told me I was allergic to pineapples, which ended up being a total lie. I think they just wanted to keep…

Course Director, Kaycie Lawson discusses the importance of observation in environmental science. Kaycie has a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences from the University of Virginia and a B.S. in Environmental Engineering from Northwestern University. Her nearly 20 year career working in environmental science has taken her to places around the globe.   “In the distant future…

Course Director, Lean Sweeney shares her teaching philosophy and experience living in Mexico. Lean Sweeney defended her doctoral dissertation, "Stateless Space and Nationless Citizens: Tools of State-Making on the Chiapas-Guatemala Border, 1821-1899" in April of 2019 at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque and received a Master's in Mexican History from the Universidad Nacional…

Over 100 students will leave home this September to start their freshman year of college abroad! Verto Education’s Fall 2019 cohort has less than two months before they step onto a plane, and into an immersive semester abroad. As the Marketing Intern for Verto Education, and a student on the Asia cohort this fall, I…

Allowing - and even helping - students to develop a non-traditional path to follow after high school graduation is hard, even for parents of responsible children. Even for college admission consultants. I was both. Thirteen years ago, my son Ben wanted to hit the pause button before beginning college. The consultant in me told him,…

Verto Education was designed to give participants the opportunity to see new countries while graduating in four years at the same cost, if not less, then your typical semester of college. We do our best to eliminate anything that does not directly contribute to our students’ educational experience. That means students aren’t charged any dues…

Course Director, Dr. Karen Straight, shares her teaching philosophy and experience on a semester with Verto Education. Dr. Karen Straight earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and will be serving as the Course Director for Identity, Politics and Equity, Cultural Anthropology, and Global Health Fall 2019. My…

The key to every successful semester of Verto Education is the team behind the scenes! Our Course Directors will serve as adjunct faculty at Portland State University and be responsible for designing the curriculum, training the teaching staff, and supervising the delivery and grading of the course. They've all travelled far and wide and think that…

Colleges increasingly support the idea of students taking a year out of the classroom between high school and college. Most agree that gap years are great for student outcomes. Harvard’s own admission’s team wrote at length about the benefits of gap years, stating that, “The results have been uniformly positive. . . students who had…

It’s been more than ten years since I graduated high school. Thinking back to that time, I remember vividly how important college felt. I was an honor roll and AP student, President of the Student Government Association, an editor for our newspaper, member of class council, the track team, cross country team, soccer team, and…