12 November 2021 ROC Your Global Future Hosts Rick Steves

Travel writer Rick Steves will be a featured speaker during the annual ROC Your Global Future Conference hosted by Hobart and William Smith Colleges and other Rochester-area colleges.

ROC Your Global Future conference is an annual event co-hosted by eight Rochester-area colleges each fall and is a networking and career development opportunity where college students from the greater Rochester, N.Y. area come together to connect, reflect, network and explore study abroad opportunities. 

In its fifth year, the 2021 ROC Your Global Future conference will be a week-long series of virtual events and workshops from November 15 – 19, 2021 to coincide with International Education Week, an initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education.

The ROC Your Global Future Conference will host Rick Steves, an internationally recognized American travel writer, author, activist and television personality, as the conference’s featured speaker. Steve’s speech will take place virtually on Tuesday, November 16 from 5-6 p.m. via Zoom. The event is free and open to students as well as the HWS campus community. Register HERE for the event.

The theme of this year’s conference is “Becoming a Global Leader to Address Global Challenges.” Steves will highlight how international travel is more than just site seeing and trying new foods, but an opportunity for students to become “global citizens” and make a positive difference in the world. 

In addition to Steve’s speech, the conference will include workshops and cultural enrichment activities for students highlighting four themes: Becoming a Global Citizen, Cross-Cultural Competency Skills, Going Abroad, and Study Abroad in Your Career. The workshops will provide invaluable learning experiences and professional development opportunities for students including being a sustainable and responsible traveler, reflecting on their identities abroad, and post-graduate opportunities such as international fellowships and the Peace Corps. Students can also learn how international experiences can make them more competitive in the job market and how to best highlight their international experiences in their resumes and job interviews.

The conference is relevant to both students who have returned from study abroad and those interested in pursuing international experiences and developing global leadership skills.

For more information, contact CGE Predeparture and Reentry Programming Coordinator Jennifer O’Neil at oneil@hws.edu