BGGA Lifestyle Program Guide 2019 | Page 8

BGGA has over 20 years experience educating international students. POWER of PEERS Peer group interactions and school culture have consistently been named among the most influential factors on student learning. Further, a mounting body of evidence clearly indicates that students who receive programming focused on leadership, community and character academically outperform their peers, get better grades, and graduate at higher rates. In 2017, BGGA introduced both a peer-mentoring/leadership model known as BGGA Ambassadors and a college athlete character program called HABITUDES. Through these programs that harness the power of peers, The BGGA Lifestyle Program helps leverage the leadership potential of students to accomplish two goals: • Students become more closely connected with school and more deeply engaged in their own learning, which research makes clear leads to greater academic achievement. Peer group interactions and school culture have consistently been named among the most influential factors on student learning. • Students develop leadership, social/emotional, non-cognitive skills that research shows are critical to college and career success.