Seattle Students Return from First Visit Abroad
San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) August 10, 2013 -- Ten students from TAF Academy return today from their first taste of adventure in Costa Rica. The trip, part of a series of expeditions students across the country will embark upon this summer, is curated by Learning AFAR, the flagship program of AFAR Media’s non-profit arm, the AFAR Foundation. This group of TAF students are sponsored by Seattle-based Wimmer Solutions, the technology and business consulting company.
Offering exemplary underserved students an opportunity to see the world outside their own city limits, many for the first time, Learning AFAR encourages them to change their perspectives through experiential travel, returning to their communities as global citizens with a greater sense of purpose – changed, inspired, proactive. Each trip combines community service, connection with locals and an experience that offers a window into the world that only travel can provide. Shared goals for the expeditions are: world-view, tangible goals, community, storytelling, and possibility.
As the team boarded their flight back to Seattle, Group Leader, Ms. Claudia Lemus shared the following sentiments: "Traveling to Costa Rica has empowered my students to be able to push themselves to their limits even outside their comfort zone. Whether through experiencing the frustration of a language barrier, overcoming their fears of insects and other animals, learning and seeing first hand the poverty of a region, or experiencing the profound respect there is here for nature, each one of my students has grown tremendously - intellectually, emotionally, and interpersonally. I think we've realized as a group that none of us will be quite the same anymore after all we've been through and seen on this expedition. Pura Vida!"
Over four summers, Learning AFAR, with non-profit partner Global Explorers, has sent 230 high school students to places they might not have otherwise experienced, including Cambodia, Costa Rica and Peru.
As part of the pre-expedition curriculum, AFAR editors visit the participating schools to talk to the students about: the meaning of experiential travel, what makes good writing, what it takes to put together a magazine, how important it is to tell a compelling story. In addition to uploading photos/Highlights from their trips to AFAR, the students will create their own Learning AFAR magazine after the expeditions.
TAF Academy is located at 26720 40th Avenue South, Kent WA 98032.
ABOUT AFAR MEDIA AFAR: is the multi-platform travel brand that inspires and guides those who travel the world to connect with its people, experience their cultures, and understand their perspectives. Headquartered in San Francisco, with an office in New York City, the company launched in 2009. Its platforms include the award-winning AFAR magazine, AFAR.com, the AFAR mobile App, the non profit AFAR Foundation; and immersive travel series AFAR Experiences.
ABOUT WIMMER SOLUTIONS: A premier Northwest resource for consulting, staffing, and managed service solutions, the Wimmer Solutions team are experts at engaging the best technology and business specialists to help clients achieve their objectives. From our clients, to our employees, to the greater community, we care about people, where they want to go, and how we can help them get there.
ABOUT TAF ACADEMY: TAF Academy is a highly diverse, sixth- through twelfth-grade public school with a STEM focus. TAF Academy operates through a public-private partnership: Technology Access Foundation, a nonprofit, co-manages the school with Federal Way Public Schools, with TAF providing all programming and equipment beyond what is standard for other district schools. Enrollment is open to any student eligible to attend district schools (students in the immediate area have enrollment priority). The school opened in 2008.
CONTACT: jrobbins(at)afar(dot)com
Jordan Robbins, AFAR Media, http://www.afar.com, 970-484-3633, [email protected]
Share this article