global citizen year was founded after abigail falik won first place in the 2008 harvard business school pitch for change with her blueprint for the idea. after graduating from high school, falik had looked for an opportunity for global service before college but found that the peace corps would not accept 18-year-olds, and that few similar programs existed for that age group. abigail has since dedicated her professional life to creating new opportunities for young americans to learn about the world. falik received a b.a. and m.ed. from stanford university, and an m.b.a. from harvard business school.