101. Dalton Global Initiatives (DGI)

Dalton Global Initiatives provides students with opportunities for immersive cultural experiences and service learning opportunities in a wide range of cultures.

The Dalton Global Initiatives (DGI) program is committed to integrating global and interdisciplinary perspectives more comprehensively into the curriculum. DGI offers several programs annually for students to explore the world around them. Students have traveled to China (Language and Cultural Immersion), Ecuador (Earth and Environmental Science), Italy (History and Cultural Immersion), Morocco (Language and Cultural Immersion), New Zealand (Environmental Science, History, Art, Cultural Immersion and Service Learning), South Africa (History, English and Service Learning), and Spain (Language and Cultural Immersion).

“I’ve always wanted to travel the world. However, I came from a family that believed international travel was meant only for adults because young people could not fully appreciate it. Dalton Global Initiatives allowed me to indulge in that deep yearning, giving me the gift of international exploration regardless of my family’s limitations.

Through DGI, I traveled to Argentina, Ecuador, and the Galapagos. These trips were absolutely foundational in my education and strongly influenced my current interests — particularly my very first DGI experience, where I lived in Buenos Aires and attended a bilingual school. Nearly five years later, I’m still in contact with my Argentinian host family and consistently refer to the wonderful memories created there.

That immersive expedition into Spanish culture and language completely changed my worldview, igniting my passion for Spanish at a young age. Since graduating from Dalton and starting at Harvard University, I’ve studied abroad in both Spain and Bolivia and have received a citation of language proficiency in Spanish from the university.”
—Ashley LaLonde ’16