GLA Blog » Thoughts on International Education

Posts Tagged ‘teen summer programs’

May 20th, 2010 by GLA Executive Director

Essay Contest to Win All-Expense Paid Ecological Volunteer Trip to Costa Rica

Global Leadership Adventures, which offers life-changing international community service trips for teens, is offering a FREE trip to Costa Rica for ONE deserving high school student this summer. The winner will venture on the all-expense paid 10 day Tropical Ecology & Service program from August 14 to 23, 2010 – a $2,500 value!

GLA’s goal is to provide life-changing experiences that will cultivate a global perspective and open-mindedness in students that will ultimately inspire them to become great leaders and global thinkers who will seek positive change in their own communities.

The 10 day Costa Rica trip includes volunteering at a non-profit nature reserve, zip-lining through the rainforest, whitewater rafting, hiking to hidden waterfalls and much more.

Read more details about this program. Meals, lodging and airfare from Houston, Texas to Liberia, Costa Rica will all be paid.

High school students ages 14 to 18 are eligible to enter. Students must answer the following essay question for the chance to win:

Tell us how you’ve shown leadership in your community? And, how would performing community service in an international setting help you further develop your leadership skills on a local and global level?

Responses must be no more than 500 words. E-mail responses to contest@experiencegla.com. All responses must be received by June 25, 2010, 12:00 a.m. PDT to be eligible for the contest.

Contest Rules:

· No purchase necessary.

· Prize is not redeemable for cash or anything else.

· Prize not transferable to other programs or program dates.

· Students are responsible for travel to Houston, Texas.

· Contest ends June 25, 2010, 12:00 a.m. PDT.

· Employees or family members of employees of Terra Education are not eligible.

· Only one submission per student.

· Anyone submitting more than one entry will be disqualified.

· Global Leadership Adventures is not responsible for any issues that arise that prevent winner from claiming the prize.

· In the event the winner is unable to claim the prize, the second place essay will receive the prize.

  • Winner will be contacted via email on Friday, July 2, 2010.

Tags: ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

May 18th, 2010 by GLA Executive Director

Canceling Trip to Thailand? Consider Vietnam.

*Thailand Update*

Are you canceling your travel plans to Thailand?

Many governments are recommending that people cancel all
non-essential travel to Thailand. However, Vietnam is a great
alternative to experience the wonder and beauty of South East Asia.

Read the US Department of State travel warning on Thailand here:
www.bit.ly/USgovtThailandWarning

Global Leadership Adventures offers a unique service-learning
experience in Vietnam.  This program takes students to Hanoi, Halong
Bay, Saigon and the charming colonial town of Hoi An. We also spend
time volunteering with the Hill Tribes in the mountainous Sapa
region. Read more here: www.experienceGLA.com/vietnam

You will have the rare opportunity of being immersed in the culture
by learning some of the local language, connecting directly with
farmers while wading through the rice paddies, and visiting ancient
ruins.

Although the entire program is a journey through markets, pagodas,
beaches, and towns, we will do day trips to explore the country up
close throughout this 14 day experience.

To learn more visit: www.experienceGLA.com/vietnam

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Intl. Affairs | No Comments »

December 23rd, 2009 by GLA Executive Director

Global Leadership Adventures Alumna on Boston TV Station Talking About Volunteering in Ghana

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Alumni Action | No Comments »

November 30th, 2009 by GLA Executive Director

GLA alumni donates 300 pounds of school supplies to Ghana

Global Leadership Adventures alumni Allison Hoffman was featured in the Patriot Ledger newspaper for collecting 300 pounds of school supplies to donate to the school she volunteered at in Ghana during her GLA program.

Read the full article here.

Often students ask me about donating supplies to the organizations that they volunteer at and I normally reply by saying that it’ll cost more to ship the donation than it would to simply buy the materials locally.

However, Allison was able to obtain a donation of shipping from the owner of a logistics company.  I also like how she turns down the offer to send electric pencil sharpeners.  She’s smart and aware enough to just collect supplies that can be used by the local community and use appropriate technology.

Kudos to you Allison for staying involved!

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Alumni Action | No Comments »

October 8th, 2009 by GLA Executive Director

Beyond Teen Summer Programs: Being a Global Citizen

After a great summer of programming, hundreds of teens volunteering abroad, and thousands of unforgettable memories, it’s now time to return to school. My hope is that the pressures of school, sports and college admissions will not dilute the impact of the student’s summer experiences. In fact, now is the time to begin to really take action.

I have always believed that international volunteer programs like Global Leadership Adventures are really a starting point for young global citizens.

So, I was thrilled to see GLA Tanzania alumnae, Brittney Calzone, featured in an article in the local newspaper in Redding, Connecticut.  Brittney started a drive to collect books for the Himo Secondary School that GLA works with in Tanzania.  If you read the article, you’ll see that Brittney is trying to figure out how to ship the books to Tanzania – if anyone can help, please contact us and we’ll connect you with Brittney.

In the coming weeks, I will continue to post stories about students who are staying involved in global issues and new opportunities that exist for teens right in their own backyard!

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Alumni Action, High School Specific | No Comments »

May 11th, 2009 by GLA Executive Director

Social Entrepreneurs Can Change the World

I really liked this video that captures the spirit of entrepreneurship.  In fact, this captures the very reason I believe in Global Leadership Adventures — the message of entrepreneurship empowers young people to know they can change the world.  Whether its in business, or more related to the mission of GLA, as social entrepreneurs creating innovative solutions to global issues – never forget that your vision is acheivable.

In fact, on all of our programs we try to expose students to cutting edge social entrepreneurs.  Whether its an organization in Brazil that teaches street kids hip hop dance or a rural women’s microfinance group in India – our students see first hand grassroots leaders innovating to address social issues.

Watch this great video for a dose of inspiration:

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Intl. Education | No Comments »

March 20th, 2009 by GLA Executive Director

International airfare, cheaper

Last year it seemed like international airfare would continue to go up, up and away.  Airlines started adding ridiculous fuel surcharges, baggage charges and fees for everything.

As the price of oil went down, we expected to see fuel surcharges disappear and prices return to normal.  Alas, we were disappointed and worried that the combination of an economic recession + high plane fare would reduce enrollment in our programs.

However, in recent weeks we have seen that the airlines are actually lowering their fares.  Apparently, demand has been so weak due to the recession that its finally causing them to drop prices.

So, fortunately for our families, airfare to Tanzania, Brazil, India and Vietnam has dropped considerably.  There’s never been a better time to travel!

Tags: , ,
Posted in High School Specific | No Comments »