This year’s series of National Virtual PDOs are being made available to students and their parents who are not able to attend an in-person or virtual local orientation event. Students will also be required to take the new, self-directed online PDO module to fulfill compliance, which will have complementary content to the local and national PDO presentations.
Led by staff and volunteers, the national PDO webinars will focus on the intercultural learning aspects of the student preparation and complement the concepts covered in the Student Learning Journey. Content for the national PDO is the same as the local PDO and focuses on setting realistic expectations, sharing hopes and concerns, brainstorming coping strategies, the AFS Support Structure and intercultural learning tools such as the D.I.V.E. model.
If a student is not able to attend your local PDO as scheduled, or your team is not in a position to offer a virtual or local PDO this cycle, please share the below registrations links with the student/s and encourage them to attend a national virtual PDO. To verify whether a student from your area has registered for one of the below national, virtual PDO’s, please contact Martha at mfriend@afsusa.org.
Thurs
24-Jun
4pm EST
Thurs
8-Jul
8pm EST
Thurs
22-Jul
4pm EST
Tues
3-Aug
8pm EST
Tues
17-Aug
4pm EST
Please refer to the Pre-Departure Orientation page on Help & Learning to access instructions on how to determine which students from your Team are preparing to depart and should be invited to the PDO. All core SM/YP students and all SM/YP CB, NSLIY and YES students should be invited to your local PDO
A Note About Travel and Logistics: A was the case for NH20 & SH21, Gateway Orientations will not take place in the NH21 cycle. Travel and logistics webinars will be held that include review of international flights, logistics for the day or travel and travel safety protocols.