Over the last 8 years, Global Brigades has grown from a handful of volunteers to having over 7,000 students participate in programming on an annual basis. What has been responsible for this phenomenal growth? It may be hard to believe, but part of this success can be traced back to one fateful evening in 2006 when Global Brigades co-founder Steve Atamian took part in an energetic brainstorming session with Don Osborne, a graduate admissions coach and the founder of INQUARTA, an organization which has helped over 6,500 students gain admission to graduate schools.
Fueled with a couple of beers and a shared passion for social action, Steve and Don spent hours and hours excitedly discussing how they could take what would become Global Brigades to the next level in order to do the most good for the most amount of people globally. From his years of experience as an admissions coach, Don knew how difficult it was for students to get real leadership experience and how important this experience is for graduate school admissions.
Before Global Brigades, most students looking for international experience could take part in “poverty tourism” programs where students travel abroad to visit and look at different communities, but are unable to make sustainable and meaningful contributions. Don was an immediate and enthusiastic supporter of Global Brigades because our programs are structured to truly allow students to take what they learn in the classroom and to turn their theoretical knowledge into applicable and direct action. Don knew that these opportunities for organizational and leadership development would pay dividends in graduate school admissions while allowing students to capitalize on their passion and energy for doing good in the world.
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Don’s Special Offer for Brigaders:
Don would like to offer all brigaders a discounted rate on any INQUARTA products that can help you get into Graduate School! Click here to view the Inquarta dashboard full of opportunities. If you are interested in applying to Medical School, Law School, Dental School, or Business School, you will want to check out the array of products Inquarta has to offer. Don has been leading Inquarta since 1994 and has helped thousands of applicants to graduate school.
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From this conversation, Steve and Don set the goal to take Global Brigades from 100 college students to 1,000 active volunteers in one year. To grow the fledgling organization, the two decided to rely upon a time-tested and proven grassroots strategy: word of mouth. Don had already been touring the country visiting campuses to talk to students about how to get into graduate school, so it was a natural fit for him to include Global Brigades as an example of how students could gain leadership experience that suited becoming a distinguished applicant and good global citizen.
Don spent two years dedicated to college campus tours and has spoken to over 10,000 college students. These conversations with students across the United States have been responsible for the spark in Global Brigades’ outstanding growth – from 100 volunteers in 2006 to over 7,000 annual volunteers that have benefited over 300,000 community members to date! According to Don, “I believe undergrads genuinely want to serve. They want to be in service and give help to people who are less fortunate. These students are just looking for an outlet and a way to do that. Global Brigades became that outlet – the biggest outlet on the planet.”
