Our Mission
Our mission is to cultivate the next generation of globally conscious youth of color through full language immersion study abroad experiences.
We understand and emphasize the importance of learning another language. It is too often that students spend years of formally studying a second language in school, and then, are unable to maintain a conversation in that language. We recognize that classroom study provides students with a strong foundation for language learning, but in order to achieve fluency, learners must be fully immersed. And for those who study Spanish in school — in a nation with the second largest Spanish-speaking population — it can still be challenging to become fluent.
We understand that providing youth with intensive language training will grant them access to the world at large.
We also see that students of color, especially Black/African-American students, are highly underrepresented in college study abroad experiences. Teens of Color Abroad aims to confront this racial disparity earlier by creating engaging, international study opportunities for high school students that inspire them to continue this journey while in college.
Learning another language provides access to the world
Founder’s Vision
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always had an affinity for the Spanish language. Growing up in New York City meant that Spanish was as common as dollar slice pizza. Spanish was in subway ads, my favorite TV shows, the music on my Walkman, the corner bodega. But, as a kid from the projects of Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, Spanish-speaking countries like Spain or those in Latin America seemed as far away to me as Staten Island.
So I did the next best thing - I studied Spanish in school. In my junior year of high school, an opportunity to study abroad appeared, but my heart sunk when I saw the price tag. It reinforced the idea that ever going international was not meant for kids like me.
When a similar opportunity appeared in college, I rejected it again without hesitation, telling my advisor that I couldn’t possibly afford it. He insisted that with my skill set and passion that I belonged on the trip and pledged to support me. Within a week, it was settled. My first trip outside of the U.S. would be a service trip to the Dominican Republic to support a public health project in a barrio outside of Santo Domingo.
Villa Mella, Dominican Republic. January 2008.
I remember every sight, sound, and smell from that trip. I remember the airplane buzzing with conversation from we “eager-to-change-the-world” millennials. I remember being enthralled by Anthony Santos’s “Donde Estará” blaring from the speakers in a local colmado. Most of all, I remember the nervousness realizing I would have to actually use the Spanish I’d only been learning in the classroom up until then. The nerves dissipated quickly as with each conversation, my confidence grew.
There is extensive research that shows studying abroad changes a person’s life. We know that a student’s engagement in learning, their sense of confidence, and their motivation to continue studying a second language at the university level improves after traveling and studying in a foreign country. I decided to start Teens of Color Abroad because I saw myself in many of my students: the drive, the curiosity, the passion and the need for a chance.
My experience is not at all unique. Ask anyone who studied abroad how those experiences impacted who they are today, and I am certain the response will be somewhere between a long story of a memorable adventure to a short anecdote of some transformative experience. At TOCA, we believe everyone should have equal access to this opportunity of a lifetime. Everyone, including teens of color. Because they deserve the world, too.
Lamar Shambley
Founder and Executive Director, Teens of Color Abroad