Program Reviews

I absolutely loved getting to know the local staff and just walking around the village that we stayed in was so wonderful. Everyone that we encountered was so welcoming and kind, even though we were mzungus (white people). Whenever we passed people on the streets, a simple smile and hello would always be exchanged. That is possibly what i miss most about the trip; the common kindness that everyone carried with themselves.

I traveled with Global Leadership Adventures on the Children of the Maya trip to Guatemala, and I can truly say that it was one of the best experiences I have ever had. I not only met some amazing people from the country itself, but I met other students who are now some of my closest friends. Working with the kids at the schools where we volunteered was so heartwarming. We were all able to connect with these kids and to feel like we were making an impact. On top of all that, I gained a whole new understanding of Guatemalan culture that I never could have gotten without traveling with GLA and learning from the mentors and the local people we met. It was truly a life-changing experience, one that I will never forget.

I traveled to Peru last summer with Global Leadership Adventures and was completely blown away by the experience. I hadn't done a trip without knowing anyone going into it, so I came into the experience more than a little nervous and wary. But GLA exceeded all of my expectations. I felt completely safe and secure at every moment, and that was a big deal to me. The accommodations on the trip were great and the mentors on the trip were absolutely fantastic. Right from the start, I felt welcomed and supported, and as the trip went on I only grew more in awe of how cool they were. The other great aspect was they really take leadership, adventure, and cultural immersion into account, almost as much as they do meaningful service work.
Yet what made my trip truly exceptional were the other students. Before the trip, my friend who had done GLA Costa Rica told me that GLA attracts really cool people and I was going to make some really great friends, and that proved so true. Somehow I was lucky enough to get to explore Peru with 30 of the coolest, nicest, funniest people I had ever met. Lasting friendships just formed instantly and I'm so grateful for the relationships I formed, and my trip wasn't an exception to the norm. As I look at my opportunities in the future, I really don't know how anything could top my trip with GLA last summer.

Hello everyone! I was in the GLA Peru: Service in the Sacred Valley trip. My three weeks in Peru with Global Leadership Adventures were amazing! From hiking the Inca Trail to building a greenhouse for a local village in Cusco, the projects we worked on and the activities we did every day were unique and forced us out of our comfort zone to figure out new ways to achieve our goals. Our service project was to build the foundation for a greenhouse, and a major challenge was figuring out a system of transporting huge rocks up a hill and into the walls of the greenhouse. With the help of our mentors and other locals, we broke up into teams and built up the wall with impressive speed. The mentors on our trip were consistently dedicated to our success; they are inspirational people who taught me to look at the world in different ways and have helped me understand what I want to do in the future. At the end of my trip, I felt that I had made a definite impact on the village I worked in, and also that my worldview and understanding of problems faced by developing communities was deepened. I definitely recommend Global Leadership Adventures to anyone interesting in making a change while immersed in another culture.

If interested, you can visit their website at www.experiencegla.com or you can search "GLA Peru" in Facebook to read more about the trip and have questions answered from GLA Alumni.

As my high school graduation waits right around the corner, I've reflected quite a bit on the things that have most impacted me throughout the past four years of my life. I feel that I've done a lot here at home, but being president of student council, playing softball, and excelling academically don't even begin to measure up to the impact of my experiences I had through GLA.

In the summer of 2013 I travelled to Guatemala through the 2-week "Children of the Maya" program. As my first experience ever out of the United States, the program was well organized, immersive in the local culture, and all-around showed me the amazing way that traveling abroad can bring new perspective. Through everything, including an unfortunate incident in which our van crashed on the way to a weekend excursion (everyone was okay!), GLA was nothing but supportive. I built a commitment to service and global consideration in everything I do. I came home from the program looking forward to future endeavors internationally.

Initially after the Guatemala program, I didn't think that another GLA program would be an option. However, in March of 2014 my dad mentioned the possibility. After much debate about which program to choose, I decided on the 3-week "Building a Sustainable World" trip in the Dominican Republic. If I thought Guatemala was life-changing, this experience completely flipped my world upside-down. Not only did I meet my best friends on this trip, but I also saw the true value of sustainable development and community. Upon my return home, teachers, friends, and family alike commented on my newfound happiness and passion. To put it simply, I was invigorated with a new drive I didn't even know existed.

Because of GLA, I was lucky enough not only to find my passion, but also to express it through my application to the Tulane University Deans' Honor Scholarship, which I actually received. I will attend Tulane starting this fall to study public health and international development. (See my video for the DHS scholarship at the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lWbOR7JYfg )

GLA - this is my love letter to you, an expression of my undying gratitude for your programs, your staff, and your commitment to doing "voluntourism" right, thereby giving volunteer travel the good name it deserves. You have changed my life, and for that I thank you.

If you're looking for a way to volunteer while having a great time and making new friends, Global Leadership Adventures is the way to go! I had the best experience with them and learned a lot while having fun. I went to the Dominican Republic (Beach Adventure) for 10 days. I made a lot of wonderful new friends there, some of whom I'm still in touch with 7 months later. During the trip, we built bottle schools and played with the children there. That was exhausting... however, we were not even 2 minutes walking distance from the beach and could relax there on any given night. I had an amazing, eye-opening experience there and I would 100% recommend this trip!

My trip to Peru was amazing! As a 14 year old, I was the youngest in my group and was nervous at first, but as soon as I arrived I realized there was nothing to be worried about! My group had 30 kids in it with 4 consolers, and I was lucky enough to get to know them all. I made many friends on my trip (man whom I am still in contact with) and together we made every day exciting. My group worked on improving sanitation in a small community. Every week day we would volunteer and then take Spanish lessons, and during the weekends we took many adventure trips. Overall, I had a great time and would highly recommend Global Leadership Adventures.

My parents were so skeptical when I first told them about this trip. My dad had this horrible imagine in his head of his daughter being sent off to a dangerous, far away country. We even wondered if the trip was a scam. Now, I can't help but laugh at all of this, 6 months after my trip.

I went on the 21 day trip and I honestly believe it's the only and best way to do this program. It will be worth every penny. If I had gone for one of the shorter trips it would have been the worst decision ever because after 21 days, leaving was still the hardest thing I've done in my life. It felt like there was still so much to learn and do.

It feels so weird writing this review. I remember reading a bunch of these when I was researching the program and thinking they must be exaggerating when they said "it was the best experience of my life". But now I find myself thinking about the Dominican every single day, and working on a project to go back this 2015 summer because it honestly changed my life. The program goes WAY beyond just teaching you about sustainability. They teach you about defining your own success, they teach you about doing what makes you happy and doing whats right. You learn how to stick up for those that were born into less privileged situations than you were. You learn how to be happy and for the first time in your life you care about the true simple things in life. When I arrived in California after my trip I found that my house seemed 20 times bigger and filled with luxury. I was grateful for having clean water to drink, I was grateful for eating 3 times a day, I was grateful for my beautiful room that was so well built and warm, I was grateful for having shoes to wear and a warm shower and a free education.

When I got back I promised myself that I would write a review on the program and make myself available to anyone who has questions because I know that the people that I was able to get in contact with were the best help I got. Theres just something reassuring about talking to a real person who's been through the program so I'm here for any of you, please contact my facebook and message me.

Sincerely
Melanie

I've always wanted to travel abroad and do something non-academic with my summer, and the Global Leadership Adventures program gave me the perfect opportunity. I was scared that my first time outside of America with a group of people I'd never met before would be frightening, but it was the best experience of my entire life. The food was amazing and freshly prepared each and every day, and were authentic to the culture I was immersed in (Costa Rican). I played sports with not only my new friends but also native children, did volunteer work among the dryforest, rainforest, and a local elementary school, swam in a natural hot springs, hiked through the rainforest and up a volcano, just to name a few.
I've made experiences and memories that I will never forget and still look fondly back on every day (no, I'm not exaggerating). I would recommend this program and country to anyone in a heartbeat. It has truly given me the most amazing experience.

I really, really loved going to Thailand with GLA. They were amazing and I felt safe with all the mentors and staff at all times. We got to do all the amazing things we saw online and the program really opened my eyes to things I had it been aware of. I was sick at one point and one if the mentors got me medicine, and took care of me just like my own mom would. I felt so safe and happy.I walked away from this experience happy and proud I had done it. The only thing was that is was super expensive. But in my personal opinion-totally worth it. I was actually awarded a scholarship for myself and a friend to go again of $500. Most amazing program ever.