Program Reviews

I had a really great time on my trip even though it was during the COVID pandemic. I had really great instructors and made so many close friends. This trip helped me gain confidence in living away from home and I was able to learn through experience as opposed to being in a classroom, which was great for me. I enjoyed every main thing that we did and didn't really have any bad days at all. I feel really grateful to have gone on this trip and would recommend that people considering a gap year to go for it!

I had the best semester in Hawaii with ARCC. My group was amazing, and we got along really well. Everyone came into this experience with an open mind, and we had so much fun exploring and learning together. ARCC managed to make this experience phenomenal despite the ongoing pandemic, and I always felt safe. Everyone that we interacted with outside our group was extremely kind and very willing to help us learn. I enjoyed getting my SCUBA certification and going on hikes and adventures around the Big Island. My instructors were caring, kind, and responsible. They helped us delve deeper into our passions and have meaningful experiences. The also helped us grow as leaders and individuals and were eager to teach, learn, and adventure alongside the group. I could not have asked for a better way to spend the first half of my gap year.

This trip was some of the best 70 days of my life. I loved the combination of spending time in nature while also learning about the Southwest and volunteering. Even with COVID, ARCC figured out how we could safely work with most of our partners in person, whether that meant spending four days rafting the Colorado River while learning about water rights or building a fence for a wolf sanctuary. In addition to learning about the Southwest and more academic topics like environmental sustainability and immigration, I learned a lot about myself. I have a better sense of what it what I'm passionate about and how to achieve my goals.
While the prospect of spending 70 days in a tent seemed a little daunting to me at first, by the end of the trip, my tent and the rest of my group felt like home to me. There's nothing like waking up to the sun glowing through your tent and the sound of your friends laughing next to you. I'm grateful that I made so many close friends with whom I still talk to regularly. My instructors were also so passionate about their work. It was inspiring. They cared enough to take time to connect with us as people too, not just students.
If even part of you is considering taking a gap year, do it. I'm so glad I did and that I chose to do an ARCC program. 100% recommend.

I had no plan to deviate from a four year college plan, right out of the gate of high school. But when COVID quickly turned college into a learn from home experience, I became open to other options. ARCC fit every niche of what I was looking for in an extracurricular experience. It brought together my love for the outdoors, adventure, and was a brief and welcome break from social distancing. The trip was safe and exceptional, and seeing the Southwest was like traveling through a nat geo issue. Every partner we had the opportunity to work with was enthusiastic and truly devoted to educating our group. We could be a handful at times, but an air of enthusiasm followed us around and carried into every activity.

ARCC's trip was incredible! For one, the instructors were amazing; connecting with each and every student, being there to support us, and helping build a unified group. Secondly, the trip itself had a great balance between hiking in the beautiful outdoors, learning in a classroom setting, service work, and bonding with the group. Due to COVID, some experiences had to be changed last minute and ARCC adapted the programs well. I grew as a leader, student, and as a person. Highly recommend to anyone taking a gap year/semester.

My son just finished the program and we can’t say enough how amazing it was for him. He loved the adventures, the learning, the instructors, and the friends he made. It was seriously the experience of a lifetime!

The program was both relaxed enough that the kids had a great deal of independence, but structured enough that they were busy every day learning, exploring m, and laughing. My son’s stories are so incredible and the pictures that they took tell the tale of a tightknit group who came together and learned so much. I highly recommend this trip in this program.

This experience was beyond incredible. I made lifelong friends and learned so much about the locations I traveled to. My leaders made sure everyone was happy and satisfied and getting the most out of this opportunity. I truly am a different person after this trip and I wouldn’t change one thing about it. I never thought I would hike 15 miles in a day, get my SCUBA open water diver certification, become a certified Wilderness First Responder, or hike through Glacier National Park and spit a bear and her cub next to the trail. I saw so many new things and places that I would never have been able to see without ARCC. EVERYONE should take a gap year and do a semester long program, it helped me understand exactly what I want to do for this coming fall and opened so many doors for me. Thank you ARCC for an incredible 2 1/2 months.

This program was amazing and unique is every way. It was educational but had a balanced schedule of fun and adventuring. Group leaders were great and always made us feel safe and made sure we enjoyed what we were doing. Everyone in the group got along great and even when things got difficult or confusing we had a good group attitude about it. Long car rides in a 15 passenger van are no biggie when you are with 14 amazing friends. I was nervous to go on this semester but after only a few days on the trip I knew I had made the right decision :)

I had a great time! It was a nice balance of adventure activities and bonding with the group. I loved my instructors and they were very well prepared for the job and supportive of us. They were also very passionate and knowledgeable about the things we were doing. I liked that we spent half the time in Hawaii and half on the mainland. This gave me two distinct experiences that I found very valuable yet different. I also liked how we moved around so much, I feel like I saw a very wide variety of places in just eight short weeks.

Amazing trip where you get to see incredible places. Grow like a family within your group and learn all types of new skills. Learn to love camping and everything about the outdoors. Highly recommend anyone to anyone taking a gap year. This trip taught me all about living and interacting with a group, how to be more flexible, and how to act with different people. The instructors are also great mentors who are there to lead, guide and support everyone within our group. Overall a life changing experience.