Global Leadership Adventures (GLA)

I traveled to Peru for 3 weeks last summer with Global Leadership Adventures and was completely blown away by the experience. The programs are really cool and I highly suggest looking at their website for information on the service projects, excursions and other activities. They really focus on leadership, adventure, and cultural immersion, almost as much as they do meaningful service work. But let me try to get at a few other points you might not pick up on from the website. First, you will be completely safe. 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 there wasn't a moment where I didn't feel completely safe and secure, and that was a big deal to me. Secondly, the accommodations were great and I absolutely loved the staff that worked where we stayed. Thirdly, and one of the most important points, the mentors on the trips are 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. My mentors are some of the best role models I've ever had and I'm still in contact with them (one even wrote one of my college recommendations). My last point is really to me what makes GLA stand out among other programs, and that is 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 friends I made on my trip. As I look at my opportunities in the future, I really don't know how anything could top my trip with GLA last summer, and as I look back on my time in Peru now, I wish every day that I could go back and relive it over and over again. I highly recommend any of Global Leadership Adventures' programs, especially Peru because it's absolutely breath-taking and 100% life-changing, and promise you won't regret going!

My trip was absolutely life-changing. The living conditions were very different from what I was used to at home, but I adjusted really quickly. We were essentially living in hut-like structures, void of air conditioning. I believe that this really added to what I took away from the experience. The local director there said that you can't really understand the locals unless you live like them. Because we had western toilets and running water, we were living one step above the villagers. It made the experience really humbling. Some GLA programs offer hotels as the home base. This would have changed the experience for me and made it more difficult to relate with the people we were working with. Coming from a nice, air-conditioned hotel to the service sites would have made it easier to be patronizing toward the locals. The service was really meaningful. One day, we went to a village called La Grua to conduct a trash cleanup. When the church let out, however, all the children of the village came running up to us, grabbing our hands and helping us pick up trash. All of the volunteers had found a buddy within a few minutes. It was really sweet. From the outside looking in, these children are living underprivileged lives. But they're all so happy and affectionate. The few hours we spent in La Grua was really inspiring. We also spent a day at home base planting cacao seeds to develop seedlings. We spent the most time in Caraballo, where we worked on what will be the largest bottle house in the world. I highly recommend going on a trip with Global Leadership Adventures. Taking a jump outside of your comfort zone will definitely be worth it.