Janice Ogurcak is the Director of Public Programming and Outreach at the World of Little League Museum. This museum is to Little League what the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown is to Major League Baseball. Its filled with significant artifacts that range from serious to frivolous. There is a piece torn from the Berlin Wall when it fell, the badge of a fireman who perished in the [...]
Do you take great photos? Do you write amazing stories? Are your friends and family constantly complimenting your artwork and articles? Maybe it’s time to turn your hobby into a career. Hit the “digital streets” on a photography and journalism internship abroad. If you have camera and are willing to travel, you can use this opportunity to create a unique portfolio - one that no one else in [...]
Learn first-hand the spiritual beliefs, traditions, and practices of Buddhism when you volunteer to teach English to young children and monks in Asia. Travel to mystical Nepal and join other adventurous pilgrims at ancient temples with breathtaking views of the Himalayas, including majestic Mount Everest. Choose Chiang Mai, Thailand's "Rose of the North" and a land that's rich in cultural diversity, tranquil villages and other natural wonders. Visit [...]
Spring is supposed to be here, but I live in northcentral Pennsylvania, and it's slow coming. We've had several snow storms in the past few weeks, but the ground is too warm for it to stick around. Then we endured rain and high winds. I believe the temperatures are rising next week to the 60s, so I'm itching for a writer's retreat. I like to go on solo writing [...]
Kathy Kolb is the publisher of NorthcentralPA.com, a news outlet that’s been online since 2009, and she’s been steadily growing since then by personally connecting with her readers. I know, this sounds impossible — how do you connect with thousands of people? She’s accomplished this by building an amazingly loyal Facebook following, which total tops out at 31 thousand people! Also, her news site sends out a daily email, which [...]
If you’re feeling adventurous, consider a volunteer trip to Bolivia, a country with such distinctions as the World’s Most Dangerous Road, the World's Largest Salt Flat, and the Largest Lake in South America. Toss in sky-scraping Andean Mountains, dense Amazon rainforests, and the Atacama Desert, and you’re in a quandary over what to pack. The climate is as varied as the landscape, so it’s best to start in one locale, [...]
Big Cat Conservation isn't a topic they teach you at school. If you want to learn how to work with these complex wild animals and preserving the endangered species of Africa, Asia, and Latin America, then this is an amazing opportunity to take control of your education and go into the field. The term “big cat” refers to the four largest members of the Panthera genus: the tiger, [...]
When you volunteer for a conservation program in Malaysia and Borneo, you’ll learn about wildlife protection in a key area of the world with critically endangered ecosystems and species. But you’ll also learn about yourself when you spend the night in the rainforest, watching as the fireflies to come out, listening as bird calls fall silent and frogs and insects crescendo. You'll challenge yourself and find inner strength [...]
If you don’t take care of yourself, you can’t take care of others. By taking a yoga retreat, and even becoming a certified yoga instructor, you will learn to balance stress and alleviate anxiety so that you can lead a healthier lifestyle. When you learn the proper techniques of yoga from expert practitioners and instructors, you’ll deepen your understanding of this ancient form of exercise. You’ll increase your [...]
Lance Van Auken is probably the world’s foremost expert on the history of Little League Baseball. There’s only a handful of people who may know more, or as much, as Lance. He earned this honor by being a Little League volunteer, and then an employee, for most of his life. He shares this knowledge as the co-author of “Play Ball! The Story of Little League Baseball®." He attended his first [...]
Help protect and preserve forests and farmlands, and study food, agriculture, and rural life when you join NGOs, universities, and independent growers on a sustainable farming experience abroad. You'll learn that all farmland is not created equal, and farming today is more than just producing crops. It's about business management as much as it is about animal or crop production. HOW CAN YOU GET INVOLVED WITH SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE? [...]
With the semester winding down, you probably have some free time on the horizon. You could go home and see if your job at the local grocery store is still open...or if you’re looking for an adventure, you can choose a totally different path and sign up for a business internship abroad. There are so many internship opportunities around the world for students who want to gain hands-on [...]
Wendy Butler Dean is the owner of The Omnibus Publishing, a boutique publishing company that specializes in children’s books, Young Adult novels, and some non-fiction. The Omnibus is a hybrid company, combining a unique blend of older, traditional book publishing and new, digital publishing. She produces ebooks and print on demand paperbacks. Wendy’s a savvy publisher and knows how to harness the power of building a community. Many of [...]
The ancient science of yoga has been practiced in India for thousands of years. It's well researched and acknowledged as bringing happiness, health, and peace of mind to those who practice it. During the past 100 years, yoga has been recognized and welcomed in the West, and become important as a fitness regimen. But yoga is not merely a physical exercise. Yoga practitioners know that slow, measured breathing, [...]
If you're a creative person looking for a career opportunity in communications, then you know it's difficult to get hired without a solid portfolio. But how do you go about developing that portfolio if you don't have a job? Great news! You can jumpstart your career as a professional journalist or photographer with an internship abroad. There are news agencies in Morocco and Ghana, radio stations in Argentina, [...]
Today I try out a new software platform for recording podcasts, Anchor, and experiment with recording smaller audio clips, transitions, and putting together a show on the fly. I've done this to test the system and to see if I want to use it in an upcoming communications class I teach at Lycoming College. I also discuss an amazing book, "How to Be Alone," by Sara Maitland, a handbook [...]
Today I chatted with my good friend Tom “Tank” Baird about his passion for archaeology, and how he's become a local expert on the topic of prehistory and Native American cultures. I met Tank in 2005 when he rolled up to my dig site in Muncy on his Harley Davidson, with his beautiful, blonde wife, Anita, on the back. The two were clad in black leather, on a loud [...]
Do you like wide, open spaces? Enjoy sleeping under the stars? One of the best reasons for choosing a volunteer abroad program in Namibia, a country beloved for its rugged, harsh, yet beautiful landscapes, is because you will be able to live and work in the great outdoors. The world “Namib” means “vast place,” which is fitting because this is one of the least crowded places on the [...]
Steve Altier is the author of the books for young people, and is best known for his children’s books, the Gabby and Maddox adventure series. Not content with lessons for little ones, he’s written a Young Adult novel, “Lizardville, the Ghost Story,” and he’ll soon release a sequel. Steve grew up in Mill Hall, a small town in central Pennsylvania, on Lizardville Road, so yes, it’s a real place. He’s [...]
Visit Victoria Falls in Zambia as a responsible traveler - and while you’re there, lend a hand as a volunteer! From projects that have you teaching at a rural village with International Volunteer HQ, to shadowing medical professionals at hospitals with Love Volunteers, to romping with chimpanzees at Chimfunshi with African Impact, you'll have tons of possibilities to plan an amazing African adventure. As a volunteer traveler in Zambia, you’ll gain [...]
