Our Story
Our Founder
The Linking Lives Study Abroad Program was founded in 2002 by Dr. David Brinberg, Kathleen G. Digges Professor Emeritus of Marketing at Virginia Tech. His scholarly work in decision making, research methodology, and social marketing, and his more than $1,000,000 in external funding provided a strong foundation to build the Linking Lives program. The program is designed to expand student experiences beyond the classroom, to foster personal and professional growth, and to enable these students to pursue opportunities to implement social change. The Linking Lives program has received university-wide recognition for the quality of its programming and in a 7-year evaluation, students describe the experience as transformative.
MISSION
VALUES
We educate and empower the next generation of change-makers through immersive global experiences that combine experiential learning, cultural immersion, and community building. Our students gain the real-world skills and leadership needed to create meaningful and enduring change through hands-on collaboration with local organizations.
To inspire the next generation of social change agents to invest their passion and skills to build community and create fair and healthy physical and social environments for people to flourish.
Started in 2,000+ 25+ $250K+
2002 program alumni partner organizations Raised for partners