Program Reviews

I loved my ARCC trip to South America; we got to visit so many amazing places and meet great people. I really enjoyed the cultural immersion aspect, ARCC has really strong connections to the local communities which allowed us to dive deep into the culture and learn so much from the people we met along the way. The staff was super supportive all around and the itinerary took us all around Peru and Patagonia to the most gorgeous places in nature. I highly reccomend ARCC for any student looking to learn more about themselves and the world around them.

This trip was absolutely amazing. We went to so many cool places and I made so many memories with my group. I loved getting to hike and see super cool mountains and ruins. This trip has changed my life. Opened my mind to so many new ways of thinking and broadened my view of the world. Getting to experience the cutures of where we went was truely an once in a life time experience and if given the opportunity I would do it again. I can’t stress how amazing this program is. I would highly recommend to all of my friends and anyone interested in a gap year.

The best part of the trip is the cultural experience and immersion. We got to explore a variety of unique aspects surrounding Chile and Peru such as the language, food, spirituality, and traditions. Overall it was a very diverse experience. I left feeling like I was able to get a well rounded view of the countries we visited and that we got to try a little bit of everything. For future participants, come prepared for altitude sickness with electrolytes, anti nausea medication, etc. and be sure to carefully filter water.

I had so much fun! I did a lot of research on program types with different countries and landed on this one because of the intersection of outdoor exploration, cultural experience, and language exposure. I couldn’t be more glad with my decision! I loved the variety of things we got to do and how the program pushed me to do and try things that I wasn’t used to. The only thing I think could have been improved was that during the first month in Chile we had a lot of down time and then trip wasn’t as fast paced as it could have been. I feel like they could have fit more activities in the time that we were there. That being said, however, I was there during the spring of 2021 (COVID) and things were constantly changing and we had limited accessibility and opportunities and I am incredible grateful I had the chance to go at all!

Best semester of my life. I was fully enrolled for my classes and registered to go back to college, but I am so glad I choose to do this program. I will remember this trip for the rest of my life, and will recommend this trip to any students interested in taking a semester or a year off. I made so many amazing connections and my leaders were the bomb.com and feel comfortable talking with them about anything I need too. The places we traveled too were amazing and the mountains I saw were incredible.

Very structured. There was not a lot of alone time; but if you have a good group then you should be fine. a lot of adventure and long days but it’s worth it if your down for anything. i liked the outfitters that we had because they were really nice and they made the experience better because we learned about what we saw and did. I am extremely happy that i came on this program because it was a once in a lifetime experience and I now know what I like, love, and dislike. It got me comfortable with being uncomfortable.

I can easily say that going to Hawaii with ARCC was one of the best decisions of my life. I made such close friends and was constantly laughing with my group. The people that ARCC attracts for its program are simply awesome. I was nervous going into the program as I had never been camping before, but I grew to love it and impressed myself with how many tent-related obstacles I conquered. This program pushed me out of my comfort zone in the best way possible, and I grew so much as a person as a result of that. I loved the limited technology aspect of this program, as it really helped the group bond on a deeper level and allowed us all to live in the present. It was so refreshing to be able to block out the outside world and appreciate everything that was right in front of me. I loved all of the partners that we worked with for service projects - ARCC did a great job of finding these awesome organizations and people. I can't express how much fun I had on this program, and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in experiential learning and is down for an adventure.

I had an amazing 2 months with ARCC in Hawaii. I was iffy about traveling due to covid, but everyone in the office was super helpful and easy to contact. I felt safe about covid the whole time as ARCC had a good plan set in place to help combat this uncertain time. I felt this program had the perfect balance of service and adventure as well as tent camping and cabins/hostels. I was able to foster some really great relationships between those in my group as well as my instructors and was able to learn a lot. The service we did was super exciting and meaningful, my favorite was doing aquaponics at UHMC :) the partners we worked with were all lovely and I was able to learn a lot from each and every one of them. I’d definitely recommend this program to anyone looking for a mix of service, adventure, and experiential learning!

this was the best trip ever ever. because of covid, we had a bunch of our service fall through but luckily ARCC is such a flexible company that they filled in the spots for service and we did so many amazing projects ! so many times we’d be in the van on the way back to our campsite and our group would be talking about how amazing that day of service was, no matter if it was scheduled 3 months ago or 1 week ago. i have so many everlasting memories and friends that i will take with me, and i’ve also learned so much information ! all my “goals” for this semester have been fulfilled and beyond: i made amazing friends, funny moments, moments of growth, and i’ve learned a lot about what i want to do with my future. thank you ARCC for an incredible 2 months :)

Even with the pandemic situation, I had the best time on this trip. One of the big focuses is student leadership so all the meals & many of the activities are student planned, and I feel like I gained a lot of experience. My group loved thrift shopping and beaches, so we did a lot of city days and surfing, but there were tons of opportunities for hikes, service work, whatever the group wants to do, really. The trip leaders and other students are so fun, there’s a perfect mix of exploring the cities and nature activities, and the curriculum is fascinating. We were camping probably 75% of the time because of COVID restrictions, so I can’t speak to the accommodations very accurately, but the campsites were pretty nice. The leaders facilitated a lot of personal growth experiences and I got to know myself a lot better over the 2 months, so if you like adventure-type stuff, learning about social activism/Indigenous history, and want to *find yourself*, I definitely recommend this trip. Also, feel free to email me if you have any questions or want to talk more about the trip!!! I’m doing another ARCC semester in Belize in the spring, which should be a good sign :) email: audreyxcobb@gmail.com