An Interview with Maya Frost: The New Global Student

Michael F. Shaughnessy - May 18, 2009
Senior Columnist EducationNews.org
Eastern New Mexico University
Portales, New Mexico

1) Maya, you have recently written a book on creative global education. What prompted this?

In 2005, my husband and I decided to sell everything and leave our suburban American lifestyle behind in order to have a family adventure abroad.  The tricky part:  we had FOUR TEENAGE DAUGHTERS at the time and had to figure out how to usher them through high school, into college and beyond without following the traditional college-prep path or enrolling them in American schools abroad.  We stumbled upon some affordable and stunningly advantageous options that any American student can leverage to leap far ahead of his test-crazed peers.  The new breed of American global students (there are twenty student stories featured in the book) is laughing at the lunacy of the current college-prep mindset and stepping away from the outdated four-by-four model (four years of high school followed by four years of college).  They are gliding Young globals who have lived and/or studied in other countries are finding it easier to get hired by multinationals in the US that are looking for single bilinguals who are eager to be transferred to satellite offices abroad. Half-pats (those who move abroad on their own because they have an interest in living there and then seek employment from firms hiring internationals) are becoming increasingly attractive to multinationals looking to reduce the size of their expat packages (because half-pats already live there and tend to be single, they don’t require as much in terms of moving, housing and education allowances).

Those who are most likely to thrive in business in the years ahead are self-directed, innovative, and truly excited about what they’re doing. An education path that requires jumping through hoops, not questioning the status quo, and limiting the chances of developing a clear sense of one’s own interests and gifts isn’t likely to crank out the kind of creative thinkers who will develop new business models and collaborate with others in unprecedented ways.  Those following what I call the Bold School approach (as opposed to Old School) are developing essential business-related skills in ways that are far more fluid and international.  In addition, those who have a strong secondary interest (other than business) are more likely to both develop products they’re passionate about and serve a targeted market more strategically.  And keep in mind that the majority of new businesses are started by those without a business degree.  Having a degree in business is neither a requisite for nor a guarantee of business success.  While plenty of firms still seek employees with traditional business administration degrees, they’re really looking for knowledge that comes from spending time outside the classroom.  Bold Schoolers make sure to include internships (especially abroad) and work experience in diverse settings that will augment their degree.

2) Junior Year abroad has been around for a while. How does this fit into your conceptualization?

The junior year abroad is another traditional model that Bold Schoolers are tweaking. Many are recognizing the distinct advantages of spending a year abroad during their junior year of high school rather than engaging in a semester-long party abroad with their American college classmates.  In the book, I discuss the psychological and biological benefits of going earlier rather than later, the most important being that a younger adolescent brain is more likely to be hardwired for language learning and flexibility, which are two key components of a good global education. Most people believe that a high percentage of American college students are studying abroad these days, but this just isn’t true.  Less than 3 percent of all American higher ed students spend time studying abroad, and the vast majority of those are engaged in post-grad studies (only 16 percent are undergrads).  The numbers are going up (gradually) only because there are more short-term trips offered now and these are less expensive than longer stays.  Over half of those who study abroad do so for eight weeks or less and most head to the UK or other English-speaking countries or traditional European destinations (France, Spain, Italy).  These shorter programs don’t begin to offer the language learning and cultural immersion opportunities that the best study abroad experiences should provide.  One major problem is that many university study abroad programs are overpriced and unaffordable.  There’s a whole section in my book on how to study abroad for a semester in college for $5,000 (or less) and get full credit for it, and another chapter on the best high school exchange program—it costs less than $3,000 for an entire year!  A six-week London pub crawl might be a fun and memorable junior year diversion in college, but it won’t impress a future employer looking for fluency in a foreign language or experience living in a different culture. Bold Schoolers are figuring out how to gain the most from their time abroad—and they’re doing it for a fraction of what their classmates are paying by bypassing organized programs and discovering the advantages of going indie (enrolling as an independent international student).

3) New markets- for example, China and South America, may be the cutting edge for entrepereneurs in the future. How does one design an education so that one will be able to go to China and establish a chain of stores or a business in a foreign country?

Again, it comes down to designing an education that promotes innovation, develops flexibility and deepens a student’s understanding of his own interests and talents.  The best way to do that is to release attachment to the old four-by-four model and embrace options that allow each student to be challenged in the most relevant ways possible. 

There’s a story in the book about a student who spent his junior year of high school in Taiwan.  He became pretty fluent in Mandarin (much easier at that age than later—even four years makes a big difference!), and because he took community college courses during his senior year, he was able to enter a four-year university as a junior at 18 (a common Bold School move).  While enrolled at that university, he worked for a Taiwanese company that flew him back and forth, sent him to Europe, and paid him well for various projects.  He spent a summer based in Taiwan, but he really missed something he’d loved while at his college in Oregon—river kayaking.  So, he quit that job and worked instead for a watersports retailer in Colorado.  This gave him a chance to really improve his kayaking skills, and after a few months, he was invited to spend time in Uganda on a Gear For Good mission with a handful of the world’s top kayakers. 

Upon his return to the US, he was offered a job at Nike, and he’s now happily working in the global retail projects division, blending his passion for outdoor recreation (he’s also an avid snowboarder) with his interest in business and foreign language skills.  He’s 23 years old and, thanks to his early start, has more relevant global business experience than many of his peers who are ten years older.  Those who are going to do well in business—in the US or abroad--are crafting their own combination of education, study abroad, travel, and challenging personal adventures that really give them an edge in the global workplace.

4) The Internet has opened up a new educational panorama where students can take classes from different universities---but in the final analysis- a major and a minor are going to be needed. How does one plan for that final diploma?

This is another area in which Bold Schoolers shine because they are more likely to “swirl”—attend more than one university prior to earning a diploma.  Spending four (or more) years at one university is somewhat limiting—after all, students could learn a great deal more by enrolling in two or more colleges in different states, countries or cultures.  In terms of developing flexibility and creative thinking skills, swirling is an advantage that savvy students are building into their education design.  This doesn’t mean that a student should wander aimlessly from one place to another or take eight years to graduate.  It’s good to have some sort of plan, even if it’s just an overall theme rather than a detailed description of where and when, and the most successful Bold Schoolers tend to build momentum that allows them to graduate early despite skipping around.   One of my daughters took classes from six universities in four countries in three languages and still graduated from a US college nearly two years ahead of her high school classmates! 

Those who are hell-bent on getting that double major or an extra minor at the expense of making room for tangential experiences may be missing out on the benefits of a more expansive education.  The new global students are getting a ragin’ education on campus, online, on the road and on their own terms and time lines, and they are soaring above their peers who are pondering whether or not to spend yet another year on that same campus in order to get an extra major.

5) What do students in 2011 need to think about when planning their college degree?

The reality is that students today are likely to have jobs that have not been invented yet, so rather than preparing for a specific field and focusing on a narrow range of options they need to both broaden and deepen their skills and knowledge.  Those who have a keen interest in two or more seemingly unrelated areas—for example, music and physics—have an opportunity to pursue both, leading to enhanced thinking in both fields and even more options for creative employment.  There’s a wonderful story in the book about a student who did a gap year abroad, which transformed him and led to his decision to add languages and cultural studies to his planned major in biomedical engineering.  Now, he is a first-year medical student at Johns Hopkins who has spent a combined four years abroad, traveled to sixty countries, studied on six continents (thanks to several scholarships), and learned to speak five languages! He dramatically expanded his perspective and as a result, he will have far more options for practicing medicine in ways that allow him to blend his interests and be of service to the world.  That’s really a key theme in the book—to fully develop your talents and find your own best work in order to contribute to society in the most meaningful way.  The best advice is to figure out what you love, explore it in as many ways and places as you can, bring in elements from other areas that interest you, and get good at using both sides of your brain. 

6) I would have loved to have studied at Oxford or Wadham, or Durham or Balliol in England for a year. Is there still an opportunity to learn British literature in Britain?

Of course!  (Pub crawls are optional.)  However, I should point out that I’m a big proponent of maximizing one’s study abroad time, and I heartily recommend spending a year in a country in which English is not the native language and which has a less familiar culture.  You’ll get a lot more bang for your buck—not to mention valuable language skills—by challenging yourself!  There are likely to be fewer traditional opportunities for those interested in pursuing an academic career in something like British literature, but it’s important to balance this fact with a student’s level of interest and creativity.  Hey, if British lit is really your thing and you can’t live doing anything else, go for it!  The key is to follow the fire--and make sure to mix it with other elements.Someone might study British lit and then spend a semester or two teaching it to students in another country, say, or develop an online course in comparative British lit using collaborative technology.  Or both!  The point is that there are all kinds of interesting possibilities and those who remove their blinders will discover their most exciting opportunities in the global economy.

7) Maya, do you have a web site where we can find more about your thoughts and people can possible contact you?

Yes.  The website for the book is http://www.NewGlobalStudent.com and there’s a media page with contact info as well as links for specific interests related to the book.  My personal web page is at http://www.MayaFrost.com.  I speak and write about Smart Education Design and love teaching parents and students how to get an exhilarating education!

8) What question have I neglected to ask?

Oh, here’s my favorite:  “What makes you an expert on education or the global economy?” which is sometimes paraphrased as “Who the heck are you, anyway?”   While it’s true that I don’t have a master’s degree in education and I am not an expert in education policy, I wrote this book for other parents and I’m very qualified to do that! 

On Education:

I’m the mother of four recently-launched daughters, and I think there are likely to be parents out there who want to hear from someone who knows how to lead four kids through college—internationally, nontraditionally, inexpensively, and simultaneously—rather than read another book about education policy gone wrong or how to boost those SAT scores. The youngest daughter is an 18-year-old senior at a private university in upstate New York.  Our 19-year-old graduated from a Canadian college in December and is having the time of her life as a multilingual events coordinator—and the youngest crewmember aboard—for Norwegian Cruise Lines (she’s just finishing four months on the Charleston-Bahamas route and is assigned to the Mediterranean route this summer). Our 21-year-old (the one who went to six schools) graduated from an Oregon university at 20, did two internships in Manhattan (one at a Latino ad agency, one at MTV International), worked and saved her money, then quit to move to Argentina.  She’s working as a manager of an international team for an American-owned outsourcing company based in Buenos Aires.  Our 22-year-old is completing her master’s in urban public health in New York this month and has spent the last two years working as the family programs coordinator at a community health clinic in Harlem.  In June, she starts her new job as the program director for a support services center for drug-addicted members of the community—and she couldn’t possibly be more excited about it!  Our girls were enrolled in a cumulative total of twelve public schools in the US and a dozen universities around the world.  They lived and studied abroad in both high school and college, and speak at least one foreign language fluently.  They never submitted an SAT score, never took an AP or IB class, and completely avoided the traditional college application process.  Nobody has any debt—and we’re all pretty happy about that!  Total cost to us for each daughter’s preschool-through-bachelor’s-degree education:  about $35,000 including all travel, study abroad, tutors, and college costs.  (We could have chosen cheaper options or grabbed a bigger slice of the financial aid pie, but we stuck to the budget we set and we’re happy with that.)

On the Global Economy:

I have a degree in psychology and Asian Studies (yes, a double major) but more importantly, I spent my senior year of college studying in nine different Asian countries.  I graduated while abroad (had my own ceremony on Sigmund Freud’s couch in Vienna!) and returned to the US in the middle of a recession in 1982.  The only decent job I could get was teaching English in Japan, so I grabbed it and spent the next five years in the rural northern area, where I met my future husband, a fellow Oregonian who grew up in a small town only ten miles from me!  That was back in the eighties when Japan was on top. We got married and had our first two daughters in Japan, then we returned to the US, where I taught ESL courses at a private college and filled our home with exchange students from around the world.  For several years, my husband and I owned a company that exported American goods to Japan and sold imported Japanese goods in a retail setting in Oregon.   When the Japanese economy tanked, we decided to take a three-month sabbatical to Nepal and India, where Tom had spent a year as a high school exchange student.  Our kids were 7, 8, 10 and 11 at the time and it was a fantastic experience for our family.  Later, we imported Chinese products to the United States and distributed them to over 600 retail outlets across the country.  (By the way, my husband didn’t have a degree in business—he majored in international affairs.)  When we left the US in 2005, we spent the first year in Mexico (during which we figured out how to run our business virtually) and we’ve lived in Argentina for the last three years.  Argentina went through the worst economic crisis in history just a few years ago, and it’s been fascinating to witness the ways in which the people and the government are recovering.  So, our knowledge of the global economy comes from practical experience:  we’ve been a part of booms and busts and we’ve learned about who thrives when the chips are down—and which skills are essential in a topsy-turvy world!