Sansori Innovates Education, Connecting Students' Passions with Socially Minded Enterprises

NEW YORK, Jan. 28, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Sansori (www.sansori.org) has introduced a new approach to learning that travels well beyond traditional education parameters. Sansori's Bridge Year shifts the paradigm, freeing students from the current stifling standardized environment and facilitating learning through direct experience, real-world business training and cultural immersion.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140128/PH53611LOGO )

Sansori's Bridge Year offers students practical means to grow personally and broaden their perspectives while making positive contributions to their local and global community. The inaugural Bridge Year program will kick off in August 2014.

S. Kristin Kim, founder of Sansori, experienced the shortcomings of a linear and standardized model of education that stifles creativity, and wanted a better learning environment for her daughter. Another motivation was to ease the growing student debt burden by providing a lower-cost alternative to post-secondary education. Bridge Year tuition is paid at the conclusion of the program, at which point graduates pay what they can afford.

The Bridge Year (http://www.sansori.org/bridge_year.html) is the cornerstone of Sansori's approach to learning. Instead of classrooms and tests, the nine-month program features pragmatic, holistic learning where the emphasis is on self-discovery, cultural consciousness and sustainable business models. Travel is an important aspect of the program, with stops in Canada, China and Mexico.

Beginning with three weeks in Toronto, Canada, students learn to fuse ingenuity, pragmatism and art at an engineering lab; refine their storytelling skills; and explore mind-body connection through Qigong and Feldenkrais. They also prepare for a five-month social enterprise practicum and familiarize themselves with the Sansori online learning platform. Students then travel to Hangzhou, China, an old capital city of the Song dynasty, famous for its cultural richness, natural beauty, arts and commerce. They are offered an insider view of a highly successful green tea business, from sustainable growing and harvesting practices to profitable retail operations. Maya Riviera, Mexico caps off the travel portion of the Bridge Year. Students work with Mayan healers to discover how their unique gifts can benefit their communities.

After the travel program, students begin a five-month practicum at a social enterprise near their home. Students will see how passion and a sense of social responsibility can enhance any business enterprise. The practicum offers an immersive experience in which students apply their unique gifts within a business context and have an opportunity to see how a business can balance the triple bottom line — people, planet and profit.

During the practicum period, students have access to the Sansori online learning platform, from which they can participate in relevant business seminars or conduct self-directed research. By the May finale week, students will have seen how their own talents, interests and insights can be successfully adapted to a socially minded business enterprise.

"At the end of the Bridge Year, graduates will have achieved a new kind of clarity and purpose in life, combining creativity, personal empowerment and a sense of social responsibility," explained Kim. "Our hope is for people to support themselves financially while also contributing to a better, more peaceful world."

About Sansori

Sansori (www.sansori.org) innovates education connecting students' passion with socially minded businesses. Sansori offers a radical alternative to the struggling traditional education structure through experiential learning, job training and cultural immersion. It provides students practical means to grow personally while making positive contributions to their local and global community. Sansori's mission is to facilitate learning through direct experience, and connect students to productive and meaningful livelihoods.

Sansori programs are centered on Compassion, Commerce and Community. Sansori is not affiliated with any religious, ethnic or political organization and is funded by private investors.

Contact:

S. Kristin Kim or Caitlin Hudson
+1 (413) 282-8868
Email

Read more news from Sansori.

SOURCE Sansori