ARCC Programs

Why choose ARCC Programs?

ARCC has been offering summer and gap programs for young adults since 1983. We offer an opportunity to live and learn in some of the greatest classrooms on earth. Our programs take students on a journey of discovery of local peoples, places, cultures and ideas through project-based learning, rich cultural immersion, personal reflection and exhilarating adventure.

ARCC programs have a vibrant educational foundation complementing each destination and highlight regional topics that are directly linked to global issues. Summer trips range from 2-3 weeks with up to 18 students, and have a theme of cultural immersion, experiential learning, or focus on a specific topic. Gap semesters focus on personal growth in small groups of 8-14 students in an engaging, project-based, and leadership-focused environment. Through delving into these topics ranging from the environment to public health (and more) students have the opportunity to explore future aspirations in a tangible hands-on manner.

Website

www.adventurescrosscountry.com

Founded

1983

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Community Photos

Typical rainy evening in the Fiji highlands

A view we stopped at while on the way to Essaouira

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Scholarships

ARCC Gap Financial Support

A gap year is something that we hope to make accessible for all students and ARCC works to level the playing field so that all applicants may have a successful opportunity for education, travel, growth, and self-discovery post-high school. We strive to uphold these pillars of our organization through a variety of means. Each year ARCC Gap awards financial aid to support students who would otherwise be unable to cover the full cost of tuition. Additionally, ARCC is committed to increasing accessibility for our programs and supporting socioeconomic diversity within our community. ARCC’s Voyagers Scholarship provides up to five scholarship opportunities per semester to students who identify within the BIPOC community. These scholarships can range anywhere from $5,000-$8,000, and also includes gear lending and mentorship support throughout the gap year experience. The Voyagers Scholarship can also be combined with ARCC Financial Aid

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Diversity & Inclusion 💙

BIPOC Support

ARCC Programs believes that social responsibility is an essential aspect of our programming and business operations. We strongly believe that cultural immersion, cross-cultural conversations, and reflection on these experiences can increase self-awareness, promote empathy, and foster growth. We recognize that our staff, student, and participant body is not as diverse as we would hope. We also recognize that there are inherent imbalances in access, particularly when it comes to international travel and outdoor experiences. Recognizing the current imbalances and accessibility issues within the world and more specifically within experiential/outdoor education/gap year programs, we are able to move towards a more just and inclusive world.

ARCC is committed to increasing accessibility for our programs and supporting socioeconomic diversity within our community. ARCC’s Voyagers Scholarship provides up to five scholarship opportunities per semester to students who identify within the BIPOC community. These scholarships can range anywhere from $5,000-$8,000, and also include gear lending and mentorship support throughout the gap year experience. The Voyagers Scholarship can also be combined with ARCC Financial Aid.

LGBTQIA+ Support

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Neurodivergent Support

Our Essential Eligibility Criteria outlines the requirements for participation in our programs to determine if our programs are a good fit for each student. While ARCC Gap is not a therapeutic program, we do provide an inclusive environment for students with neurodivergence. We have had students with various diagnosed neuro-differences (such as dyslexia, ADHD, ASD, TS, dyspraxia, dysgraphia, etc) find success on our gap semester programs.

During our interview process, we have open communication with students and families about the support ARCC instructors are able to provide students while on program. For students needing some additional support, we ask them to complete a “Plan of Action” with their at home support system. These plans may include additional information about communication/support preferences, coping strategies, and/or specific requirements to encourage the student to engage with the program effectively. Once on the program, our instructors will periodically check in individually with each student, help the student stay accountable to their Plan of Action, and provide general support to all participants.

Accessibility Support

ARCC Gap Travels to locations around the world that have varying levels of accommodations for students needing accessibility support. For this reason, please see our Essential Eligibility Criteria to see if our gap programs are a good fit for you.

Whenever possible (determined by specific location and program - ie. infrastructure, access to specific health care facilities, dietary options available, etc), we have successfully assisted students with anaphylactic allergies, chronic medical conditions, and other accommodations on programs. We recommend that you reach out with specific concerns to your Gap Director to find the right fit for you.

Impact 🌎

Sustainability

At ARCC Programs we recognize that all human action impacts our physical environment and the living beings on the planet. Everything on Earth plays a role in supporting life and we believe that it is our responsibility to have a net positive impact with our actions. We strive to balance the impacts of our programming by partnering with communities and organizations with similar goals toward bettering our planet for future generations.

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Ethical Impact

ARCC believes that we (as an industry) need to shift the way we think about international service. We (as a society) have now come to realize that international volunteers often benefit from their service experience, while the impact on the community can be short-lived or even harmful. We at ARCC are taking the years of experience that we have in the international service learning realm, have reflected on previous mistakes, learned from our in-country partners, and have made changes. Our goal is to live, work, and learn alongside community members while also making a positive impact. We are committed to partnering with local community-driven organizations to focus on reciprocity while contributing to established long-term projects. It is our responsibility to engage in mutually beneficial community-driven projects and teach fair trade learning principles to our students.

Reviews

I would recommend this program for students who are eager to learn. The program is more educational, with some experiential learning integrated in. It is also very much on the expensive side, and the breakdown of our budget given to us was shocking, compared to the amount we payed. There is no sense of freedom or responsibility, which is not well communicated from the start. The experiences however are quite unique due to the programs in-country partnerships. There wasn’t a lot of transparency during my interview process, which left me feeling a little blindsided and unprepared for parts of the program. Logistically, the rules and procedures make sense for middle school or high schoolers - not college age students on a gap year. The instructors also definitely impact the quality of the program. For example, having an instructor who is more focused on their priorities rather than the wants/needs of the group. Another aspect that is particularly challenging is not being able to have your phone for the first month, due to “group bonding” purposes. After about week 7, the group dynamic really separates because people are tired of talking to the same group of 10 people for 2 months. If you’re looking for an opportunity to travel and experience the world, I would definitely recommend researching and doing it on your own. If you’re looking for an educational program with rules restrictions, then this program is for you.

What would you improve about this program?

The transparency of the interviewing process and parameters of the program

Pros

In country partners
People we met
Experiences vetted by program

Cons

Group Dynamic
Lack of transparency
Cost

Response from ARCC Programs

Keira, thank you for taking the time to share your reflections and feedback about your recent gap program in Southeast Asia with ARCC. We are always looking for ways to enhance our programs, and the individual experience of every participant is a critical step in this process. We are glad you found elements of the experience to be unique and meaningful, particularly those through our in-country partnerships throughout the program.

We do want to take a few moments to respectfully clarify a few points to ensure accurate context for future participants and families. Regarding transparency about the structure, our programs are intentionally designed as an educational experience, combining a structured curriculum with immersive experiential learning. This is communicated clearly throughout the enrollment process, in pre-program conversations, including your interview, and through detailed pre-program materials. In fact, the elements of our educational curriculum are one of the main reasons participants choose our programs.

Our policies regarding technology use, group living, and levels of independence are discussed extensively with both participants and families prior to the start of each program. These policies and procedures are intentional to support group cohesion, promote meaningful engagement with projects and local communities, and encourage personal growth. While they may feel limiting to some, they are clearly defined from the outset and are instrumental to the environment we strive to create.

Operating international programs and developing educational curriculum with experienced instructors, 24/7 support, risk management, and local projects and partnerships involves significant logistics and expenses. For obvious reasons, participants and families are not expected to be aware of or fully understand the operational and financial complexities behind delivering our programs, as this is not an essential part of the experience. In terms of tuition and budgeting, we understand that program costs may appear high from a participant's perspective, and we welcome feedback with the goal of striking a balance between financial accessibility and prioritizing overall experience, safety, and unique experiences.

We sincerely appreciate you sharing your experiences and would welcome further opportunity to engage directly and learn more.

By ARCC Gap on April 24, 2025

This travel gap program is a lot different than the previous stationary one I did before this. This had a smaller group of participants (9 of us). Even with a smaller group I feel like I didn’t make as close connection with most of the group. Partly because of people’s personalities, but mostly because we didn’t have as much time getting to know everyone as my last program. I loved experiencing different parts of the three countries we visited. I felt like the majority of our experiences and place we went were pretty touristy. The ones that weren’t, like the home stays and awesome partners we met were my favorite parts. I thought the two instructors were very helpful. They feel more equal to us and we joke around a lot with them. Not every moment was a great time, with that I grew and learned a lot about history, culture, and relationships.

What was your funniest moment?

Staying at an elephant conservation the man protecting us from the wild elephants gave a lot of us nicknames and one of them was chicken for a girl who tried to show him her muscles.

Pros

Experiences
Partners

This program provided a lot of fun aspects, but as with any programs there were some downsides. If you’re not used to rustic settings and not open to trying that then this is not for you. Some things to expect are; squatting potties, bucket showers, dust, lots of mosquitoes, no AC at times, no Wifi or service at times, days that require modest clothes even if it’s super hot. I felt that this program was fun, but at times it was tough. The no phones for the first month was rough and felt very isolating, the rules in place are strictly enforced- if you’re assuming that the instructors might let stuff go, they won’t. I expected to have more freedom than I was given which was frustrating at times. I also felt like I was stuck with the group- you don’t really get to meet other people and make friends your age outside of the group. But I also had a lot of fun. I got to experience so many things that wouldn’t be possible outside of this program, for example all of the service projects that we do- which can be tough in the moment but overall is fun. I met people I wouldn’t have crossed paths with outside this program that will be life long friends, I got to learn a lot about traveling and figured out what a lot of my stretch zones were, there are really fun activities each day. It’s overall very structured but it’s still fun. I would recommend this program but go into it knowing that there will be things you like less than others, at times it can be really tough, you will get homesick at some point, it will be very hot at times, and you will experience things that may be outside of your normal comfort zone. If you go into the program prepared for this, you will feel a lot better when these types of challenges come up. Overall make the most of each day- this sounds cheesy but the trip goes by so fast! Also seeing and learning about elephants is so amazing and made every tough moment on this trip worth it.

What was your funniest moment?

The funniest moment on the trip was when we were at Outland. We were sitting around a campfire at night and all of a sudden we heard the wild elephants trumpet and our instructor jumped up and booked it, she was so scared and ran faster than I’ve ever seen to get back to the main house. Everyone was dying laughing at her reaction. The elephant ended up walking through the yard and we got to see it super close up.

Pros

Experience things you wouldn’t be able to have outside the program
Traveling to so many cool places
Getting to know the people in your group really well

Cons

No phones- very isolating at first
Very strict not a lot of freedom
If you want to see something outside of the scheduled activities there most likely wont be time because the schedule is so tightly packed.

Overall, my experience with ARCC was valuable and I will carry the skills I learned for the rest of my life. My group consisted of 9 students (4 boys, 5 girls) and 2 leaders. Other than the people in this group, there will be no opportunity to meet other people your age. Everything we did was with the group and very structured. If you like structure, this program is for you. If you’re looking for more freedom, I would consider other options.

The rules in place are very firm and you cannot get away with anything that remotely violates them. (No drinking, smoking, partying, ect)

Another thing to consider is that we moved around A LOT, which I loved. If living out of a backpack and moving every few nights doesn’t interest you, don’t do this program. We mostly stayed in hotels and hostels (some were nice, some were not), but we also did a homestay in each country. The homestay in Cambodia was very rural (No AC, no running water, no WiFi, and my bed was a mat on the floor).

A lot of the things we did through this program were definitely once in a lifetime and I would have never done them without ARCC. However the 10 weeks was long and there were times I felt isolated and really really wished I had freedom to do the things I wanted to.

What would you improve about this program?

There’s a section of the program called “Student Planned Module.” It’s basically 5 days that are planned entirely by the students with a given budget. It was very challenging to plan with 8 other peers and we made a lot of mistakes, but we also learned a lot about traveling. If I were to change something about the program, I would add a second Student Planned Module to give an opportunity to learn from the mistakes made.

Pros

Mix of city living and rural living
Never a moment of boredom
Amazing cultural immersion

Cons

No freedom
Some ideas and opinions can feel shoved down your throat
Very expensive (tuition does not include flights and spending money)

I'am glad that I join this program I met amazing people and made a life long friendship, we travel and learn together for the whole 10 weeks of the program, we also have amazing partners in each of the country (Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand) experiencing homestay, trying new food, hiking, plan our own travel, navigate, saw elephants, overnight train and scuba dive! We also have amazing instructors ready to help. I felt like now I have more knowledge on preparing my own travel and most importantly I am ready to navigate college.

What was the most nerve-racking moment and how did you overcome it?

I can't crossed Vietnam borders to Cambodia but then we finally made it through.

Pros

Made long life friends
Try new things

3.50 •2 reviews

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Alumni Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with verified alumni.

Jasmin Gonzalez

Program

ARCC Gap: Southeast Asia - Vietnam, Cambodia & Thailand

Job Title

Summer, and Gap Semester Program Instructor

Jasmin has been working in outdoor and experiential education for over 10 years, starting with the outdoors program at Johns Hopkins University and later working at several international environmental education organizations throughout the U.S. and Latin America. Her journey with ARCC began in 2021 with a custom school trip in the Northern Sierra and has led to four Gap Semesters (Hawaii, South America, Northwest US, and Spain, Morocco & Portugal), four summer trips (Alaska, Kenya & Tanzania, Yellowstone & Grand Teton, and Australia & Fiji), as well as several custom school programs in Costa Rica and Panama. She hopes to continue to empower youth to stretch their comfort zones, open their minds, and discover the world!

What is your favorite travel memory?

It’s so hard to choose just one, but one that truly stands out in my mind is hiking up to see the sunrise from in front of Cerro Torre in Torres del Paine National Park, Chile. I was with my South America Gap Semester group, nearly halfway through the program and wrapping up our time in Chile. We had just spent five days hiking the W Trek, seeing some of the best mountain, glacier, and lake views in all of Patagonia. Our legs were tired, but the towers loomed overhead, and hiking up there would be the culminating point of the adventure. Unfortunately, the weather forecast was … mediocre at best. My co-instructor and I talked with rangers and discussed whether it was worth trying to catch the sunrise even if clouds and rain were expected. We set our alarms for 3 am with a “nothing ventured, nothing gained” attitude, and woke up far too soon to pitch-black drizzle. We slogged up the switchbacks with our headlamps aglow, stopping to re-fuel with snacks and to pick gravel out of our hair when the famous Patagonian winds got to be too much. Three hours later, when we got up to the iconic vista, we could hardly believe our eyes - the iconic towers were not only coated in a pink alpenglow, but a huge rainbow shone behind them!! I’ll never forget the joy we all felt in that moment - a sense of victory, accomplishment, and that we were rewarded for our hard work and early wake-up!

How have you changed/grown since working for your current company?

I’ve learned so much about myself while leading ARCC trips, and over time, I’ve worked on my perfectionist tendencies. I can plan all I want and try to make the day go off without a hitch, but there are so many things out of my control that I can’t even anticipate. I’ve learned that while it’s important to set things up and be intentional, it’s more important to be able to roll with the punches and adapt to whatever circumstances you’re in. That’s what builds resilience, and it’s a superpower that can make even the “worst” situation into a fun travel experience. I’ve had to learn not only to rely on my teammates and to ask for help, but also to depend on my own ability to make decisions in stressful situations. So many of these learnings act in conjunction to make me a more balanced leader with a wider range of perspectives and skills. I can attest that the experiential education of working in experiential education has been unparalleled preparation for whatever life throws at me!

What is the best story you've heard from a return student?

I love hearing stories from students about how ARCC trips have formed their future paths. Many students make lifelong friends in the programs. The two students I led had done seven ARCC trips between the two of them, most of them together. Many have written to me over the years sharing their next adventures and talking about how their experience on an ARCC trip opened their eyes to what was possible. Recently, I got a message from a student I led on the Australia & Fiji summer trip. He shared that traveling with ARCC boosted his confidence and his ability to thrive in a new place. He helped plan a trip to Europe for himself and his friends, and he said he chalked the success of that trip up to the skills he learned while traveling with ARCC. I’ve caught up with numerous students over the years who’ve kept traveling, trying new things, and pursuing their passions, thanks to their time with ARCC, and it always inspires me to hear that!

If you could go on any program that your company offers, which one would you choose and why?

I’ve led over a dozen ARCC trips, but some of the most incredible itineraries still elude me! One that has always captured my imagination is the Belize summer program. I love scuba diving, and getting to stay at Reef CI on a private island and do nothing but dive and sit in a hammock for five days sounds like a dream come true!

What makes your company unique? When were you especially proud of your team?

Something that attracted me to ARCC and still keeps me coming back to lead trips is the variety of programs on offer at such a high quality. With ARCC, I’ve led everything from backpacking trips in Yosemite to jungle adventures in Costa Rica, with scuba diving trips in Hawaii sprinkled in between. They really offer something for everyone if you have a sense of adventure and a desire to try something new. I owe so much of my success to these programs to the hard work of the office staff behind the scenes, planning the itineraries, training the new leaders, and communicating with participants to help prepare them for their adventure. The office staff is kind and understanding of the challenges we face working in the field, and I’ve felt so supported by them whenever we need to call with an update, question, or just to talk through an issue. I feel proud to be a part of the team every time I’m on a trip, but especially during our annual staff training. Getting to meet all the new leaders and catching up with returning leaders is so rewarding. I appreciate ARCC for the unique and welcoming community they provide and the amazing people they hire to lead the trips!

What do you believe to be the biggest factor in being a successful company?

I think the program leaders are the ones who help make ARCC successful (I admit I am biased). We’re interacting with students daily, demonstrating our ability to be flexible, adaptable, passionate, and believe in the transformative power of travel. The days can be long, the challenges unexpected, and sometimes it feels like everything is going wrong, but we are trained to stay calm under pressure, multitask, and rely on our own skills, while also knowing we always have the support of the full-time staff in the office.
I believe that all of us, field staff and office staff included, truly believe in why we’re there and the importance and necessity of cultural exchange, service learning, and international education. We put the students first and make sure their needs are taken care of while also challenging them to take ownership of themselves, self-advocate, and keep an open mind. Our ability to work well as a team and keep these many factors in mind is a definitely a huge factor in what makes us succeed!

Sophia Brigante

2019 Alum

Nick Flohr

2018 Alum

Kendra Manuel

2017 Alum

Sarah Beth Spears

2017 Alum

Willa Imhoff

2015 Alum

Maddie Dismuke

2014 Alum

Dana Alimena

2014 Alum

Liz Shull

2012 Alum

Meg Opalka

2014 Alum

Staff Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with program leaders.

Graham Phelps

Program

ARCC Gap: Central America -Costa Rica, Panama & Belize

Job Title

International Program Instructor

Graham grew up in Durham, New Hampshire in a beautiful house tucked away in the woods. He spent most of his childhood playing all kinds of sports and exploring in the woods. He has four sisters with whom he is very close. In his down time he loves to cook, spend time with friends, snowboard, surf, watch/read Game of Thrones, and participate in just about any kind of sport outside.

Tell us more about your educational, international, and professional experience:

I attended the University of Vermont where I was in the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources. My four years at UVM were the catalyst to my appreciation for the environment and how important it is that we all contribute to preserving the beauty we find in the natural world. I also pursued a variety of opportunities working with developing youth in my jobs as sports coordinator for a local YMCA and as a snowboard instructor for children with autism through Vermont Adaptive Sports.

While at UVM I developed my passion for exploring the world and discovering new cultural experiences. I studied abroad in Perth, Australia and organized a service trip to Peru to the small town of Lobitos. The latter was a life-changing experience for me that sparked my interest in “Voluntourism” and the cultural richness of Latin America, eventually leading me to live in Ecuador for four months.

I have been leading programs for ARCC for four years now in many amazing places such as Costa Rica, Ecuador, Cuba, Vietnam, China, Cambodia, Thailand, including two gap semesters in Asia and Latin America. No matter if on a two week trip or a 3 month long gap program, I have watched these trips transform students. ARCC has provided me with an incredible platform to broaden horizons and spread love to all corners of the world which I can't wait to continue this Spring on the Patagonia/Cuba Gap Program.

What is your favorite travel memory?

My favorite memory traveling with ARCC is from a backpacking trip I led in California. My group was camping for the night in the Lake Tahoe Basin. We all decided that we were not going to set up our tents and all slept together under the stars outside.

That morning we all woke up at 4am to see the sun rise over the lake from a beautiful outlook on the ridge. We all watched the sun rise in silence and as I looked around I noticed a lot of the kids were crying. I was really confused so I went and asked one of the girls if she was ok? And she whispered to me "we are all from the city and have not seen anything this pretty before, the tears aren't because we are sad, this is amazing".

I went back to my rock in silence and felt so humbled to see how powerful that morning was for those students.

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How have you changed/grown since working for your current company?

The last four years working with ARCC has created so many incredible learning opportunities. I have discovered a lot about the world and about myself on these amazing trips. I have gained an appreciation for cultural exchange and the sentiment of love that can be spread person to person no matter what cultural differences exist.

I have grown a lot as a leader and have learned the true meaning of empathizing, both with the students on my trips and with the different cultures I have come across.

It is amazing how far a smile can go, and I have found that no matter where you are in the world they seem to always be contagious.

If you could go on any program that your company offers, which one would you choose and why?

Wow, this is a hard question. So many of the programs offer lots of different experiences so it would not be easy to choose just one. Nevertheless I would choose the Patagonia and Cuba Gap Program, which I am actually going to be leading this spring!

This program visits some of the most magnificent nature preserves in the world while in Patagonia and offers perspective to the importance of continuing the protection of these places. The Cuba section is also extremely enlightening but more on the side of cultural exchange and the power of peace through meaningful human to human interactions as we start to heal our country's relationship with this amazing country.

This trip has a healthy balance of experience in both urban, rural, and completely natural areas. The culture in the Andes and the Caribbean are both completely different and equally amazing!

What do you believe to be the biggest factor in being a successful company?

The biggest reason ARCC has had so much success leading trips all over the world is because of how intentional we are with every aspect of the trips. Nothing we do with ARCC is done carelessly, there is a reason for everything we do.

As a leader I always adopt this philosophy, from how I debrief group initiatives, to the traditions I bring to my trips. The office staff also echo's this sentiment and they are very intentional with the service and educational opportunities they pursue and aim to make the experiences as enriching as possible for their students.

Website

Founded

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Community Awards

ARCC Gap Financial Support

Response from ARCC Programs

Alumni Interviews

Jasmin Gonzalez

What is your favorite travel memory?

How have you changed/grown since working for your current company?

What is the best story you've heard from a return student?

If you could go on any program that your company offers, which one would you choose and why?

What makes your company unique? When were you especially proud of your team?

What do you believe to be the biggest factor in being a successful company?

Staff Interviews

Graham Phelps

Tell us more about your educational, international, and professional experience:

What is your favorite travel memory?

How have you changed/grown since working for your current company?

If you could go on any program that your company offers, which one would you choose and why?

What do you believe to be the biggest factor in being a successful company?