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STUDY ABROAD SMARTER SUMMIT
Your Study Abroad
Experience Starts
Before You Get
on the Plane.
Get the inside scoop from international experts who can help you choose well, prepare thoughtfully, and make your study abroad experience your own.
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OCTOBER 12–16, 2026
FREE • ONLINE • ON DEMAND
Hosted by
Dr. Kristina Wachter
You’re Thinking About Studying Abroad or Taking a Gap Year. Now What?
Which program is right for you?
How much will it really cost?
How do you prepare to feel safe and confident in a place you’ve never lived before?
What if you get there and don't feel like you fit in?
And how do you make sure you come home with more than great photos?
Study Abroad Smarter brings together international experts for candid conversations about the choices, challenges, and opportunities that can shape your experience abroad.
This isn't another packing checklist or collection of generic travel tips.
It’s the practical insight you need to feel curious, capable, prepared, and ready to go.
CHOOSE WELL
How do you know which study abroad experience is right for you?
Learn what to consider when comparing programs so you can make a decision based on your goals, priorities, academics, budget, and the experience you actually want.
PREPARE
FOR THE REALITY
Studying abroad is exciting. It can also be unfamiliar, uncomfortable, surprising—and completely different from what you imagined.
Get practical perspectives on safety, cost, culture shock, academics, emotional readiness, and handling the unexpected.
CONNECT
ACROSS CULTURES
Some of the most meaningful parts of studying abroad happen through the people you meet.
Learn how to pause, ask, listen, adapt, navigate cultural differences, and build genuine relationships with people whose experiences may be very different from your own.
MAKE IT YOUR OWN
Study abroad can shape far more than a semester.
Discover how to get more from your time abroad—personally, academically, culturally, and professionally—and come home with a broader perspective you can carry into whatever comes next.
Get Ready for the Experience You Actually Want to Have.
Come Hear the Inside Scoop.
JASON MOORE
Founder / Host
Zero To Travel Podcast
AS SEEN IN:
TIMOTHY LYNN ELLIOTT
Director
International Study Programs
SAHARA ROSE
DE VORE
Founder & CEO
The Travel Coach Network
AS SEEN IN:
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SHADMAN BASHIR
Executive Director
Utah Tech University
And more amazing guests!
A diverse lineup of perspectives fro around the world.
You don't have to figure this out alone.
During Study Abroad Smarter, you'll hear short, candid conversations with INTERNATIONAL EXPERTS from travel, education, study abroad, program leadership, and cross-cultural communication.
They'll share the perspectives and practical insights they wish more students had before going abroad.
More Than “What Should I Pack?”
There are plenty of study abroad checklists.
Passport. Visa. Flights. Housing. Classes. Packing.
Those things matter.
But some of the most important preparation can't be checked off a list.
What will you do when someone's behavior doesn't make sense to you?
How will you respond when your expectations meet a completely different reality?
What happens when you feel homesick, uncomfortable, or out of place?
How do you build relationships with people whose experiences and assumptions are different from your own?
You don't have to know everything before you go.
But knowing how to pause, ask, listen, and adapt can change what you take from the experience.
That's what Study Abroad Smarter is about.
Meet Your Host
Dr. Kristina Wachter
Dr. Kristina Wachter is a cross-cultural communications strategist, founder and CEO of Cross-Culture Connections, international speaker, author of The Culture SPIN Method, and professor with nearly 30 years of teaching experience.
Study Abroad Can Change How You See the World—and Yourself.
But you have an active part in shaping what you take from it.
Come hear the inside scoop from people who know these programs, places, and experiences.
Choose well. Prepare thoughtfully. Go curious. Make it yours.
STUDY ABROAD SMARTER SUMMIT
October 12–16, 2026
FREE • ONLINE • ON DEMAND
Hosted by Dr. Kristina Wachter
