With only a duffel bag and no cell phone, Jennifer Gardner, SIS/BA ’05, didn’t expect to make lifelong friends more than 7,000 miles from American University in fall 2003.

Then, a kind host family in Windhoek, Namibia, with three kids around her age welcomed her into their world with open arms.

“It was so comfortable. I felt like they were my family,” Gardner remembered of her study abroad experience with about 30 other Eagles as part of the World Capital Southern Africa Program. “It never felt like we were a burden. It felt like they were genuinely so happy to have us there and to learn and exchange.”

In June, Gardner went back to Namibia to visit her host family for the first time in 21 years. Since 2003, she’s stayed in touch with the family of seven through yearly Skype calls and regular emails.

In just seven weeks of living together in a yellow cinderblock house, Gardner made an enduring friendship with her host family. She cooked, cleaned, and lived alongside her cultural guides and learned about their customs and values through ordinary moments. When they came to DC in 2012, Gardner returned their kindness by serving as their guide to the city.

“It feels like the old friend you’ve had from elementary school,” Gardner said. “That friend that every time you see them again—even if it’s been 5 or 10 years—you just pick up where you left off.”

Gardner’s lasting bond—a highlight of her time in college—is one example of how studying abroad is a fundamental part of the AU experience. Today, about 60 percent of AU students study abroad, including more than 1,110 students in 2023–24—the most in university history.

While the United Kingdom, Italy, and Spain are the most popular study-abroad destinations, AU is also one of only a handful of US institutions with a presence in sub-Saharan Africa. AU Abroad executive director Mark Hayes said gaining a global perspective often leaves a lasting impression on AU students.

“When students go abroad, they think sometimes they’re just experiencing the world and learning something new,” Hayes said. “The reality is, usually when they reflect upon it, it’s a time when they find out more about themselves.”

AU’s World Capital Southern Africa Program lasted only from 1999 to 2003, but its impact on roughly 150 alums was profound. Beverly Peters, director of AU’s measurements and evaluation program, led students each semester on an immersive learning experience that included two main stops in a pair of countries with hands-on learning excursions in between. In 2003, the students spent most of their time in Namibia and South Africa.

“The other day, one of the students wrote and tagged me in a post that said this was a defining moment in his life,” Peters said. “There are a lot of conversations among students about how these experiences shaped who they are.” 

Patrick Arnold, SIS/BA ’05, MA ’06, who was also part of the 2003 trip, visited southern Africa this summer too. The founder and CEO of 10 Billion Strong, a nonprofit organization that trains leaders to build sustainable communities, was in Namibia to celebrate the completion of a nine-month, environmental leadership program his company ran there.

While in Namibia and South Africa, he visited his old stomping grounds, and the memories flooded back. On that trip as an AU student, his eyes were opened to our shared humanity and how to look for opportunities to work together to solve big global problems—a fundamental part of his nonprofit work.

“I think the most significant impact of the program isn’t just the 33 or 34 people who participated, but the broader influence they’ve had—the ripple effects,” Arnold said. “Everyone who took part in the program is doing impressive work, much of which has been inspired and enabled by this experience.”

Like Arnold, Gardner can track how studying abroad led her to a career helping animals after natural disasters. Her experience in Namibia taught her how important it is to let locals lead. Despite the good intentions of outsiders, locals know their country better than anyone else.

“In the organization I work for, I’m constantly pushing that every project we work on has to be locally driven,” the International Fund for Animal Welfare program manager said. “It needs to have the input of everybody there. Projects are most successful when [solutions] come locally.”

Spring 2025 study abroad applications, which vary by program, are now open. AU Abroad will be tabling on campus on select days in September.