Three Important Lessons Global Learners Taught Us

Learners who come to UC Irvine from around the world bring different viewpoints, curiosity, and a willingness to take on challenges. Research from NAFSA and Terra Dotta shows that these qualities are common among learners who choose to study abroad, even before they arrive on campus.

DCE’s global learners certainly benefit from their time here but they also give back. They enrich and transform our campus. They’ve also helped shape how we approach teaching and learning, even how we think about community and culture. Here are three lessons they taught us, which we want to share with you.

#1: Learn Beyond the Textbook
For Laureen Oldham, an alumna from France who enrolled in the Accelerated Certificate Program (ACP) in Digital Marketing, some of the most important learning she acquired wasn’t from assignments or exams but from conversations with her classmates and instructors. Those moments gave her lasting insights she still carries with her today.

“Engage as much as possible with teachers, students, and the UCI staff. It is a great way to enhance your experience and take full benefit from it. Participate in activities as much as you can, connect with people, ask questions, and share your knowledge and experience! Everyone will benefit from it!”

Lauren’s experience is a helpful reminder that learning also happens outside of formal instruction---through conversations, relationships, and your own curiosity in other people. You can bring this mindset to the workplace and your personal life by seeking mentors and new acquaintances, asking questions, and sharing knowledge freely and openly.

#2: Seek Out Different Perspectives
Alumna Elle Wallstein who completed a program similar to Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) found that learning alongside classmates from all over the world offered more than just discovering new teaching techniques---it exposed her to diverse ways of thinking, communicating, and problem-solving.
“If they have different backgrounds, it is extremely rewarding to learn from each other. The students in my internship class impressed me with their determination, amazed me with their personalities, and soon I was looking forward to seeing them every day.”

Her experience is a reminder that the full spectrum of diversity, including cultural, experiential, and intellectual, is an asset. By being open to a host of different perspectives, we develop new ideas, create stronger connections, and devise more imaginative solutions to challenges in our workplaces and communities.

#3: Keep Learning, Even After You Land the Job
Davood Shahabi pursued two DCE certificate programs, ACP International Business Operations & Management and ACP Project Management, secured a life-changing internship, and eventually launched a career in healthcare analytics. Even after he had a full-time job, he kept enrolling in DCE courses. He went on to complete eleven more in IT and data science to keep building upon his skills.

Davood’s dedication to learning is a habit worth replicating, especially for anyone navigating today’s ever-evolving work landscape and competitive hiring environment. Lifelong learning is an effective way to make yourself adaptable, connected, and to be ready for whatever comes next. And DCE can help.

What We Can Learn From Each Other
The experiences of these international learners provide lessons for all of us. They remind us that education is more than what happens in a classroom---it’s about exchanging ideas, building up the nerve to try something new, and the decision to keep learning wherever you are, mentally and physically. Those are lessons that shape how we show up in our communities and in the world. That’s global learning with local impact.