- Program
- Big Fiji Explorer, Fiji
- Traveled
- 2013
This alumni feature shares how Rustic Pathways alumna Gabrielle Antolovic kept the friendships she made on her programs. Gabrielle traveled four times, including Big Fiji Explorer, Laos in 2013 and Lake Titicaca Service Adventure in Peru in 2014.
It’s not hard for law student Gabrielle Antolovic to share stories about the enduring friendships she made during her four trips with Rustic Pathways. Her list of friends is long, and the journeys they’ve had together since Rustic days are plentiful.
Gabrielle’s Friends and Mentors From Big Fiji Explorer
In fact, these Rustic friendships are so strong there isn’t any hesitation to reach out both in good times and in challenging ones. That happened with Gabrielle and her friend Maxx who she met on the Big Fiji Explorer program when she was a young teenager.
Maxx contacted Gabrielle after his father passed away. He was hoping Gabrielle’s father, who is in the aviation industry, could help him achieve his goal of going to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
The two connected, and it worked so well Gabrielle’s father ended up writing a recommendation letter for Maxx.
Today Maxx is a U.S. Marine fighter pilot.
The long-term benefits from that Fiji trip didn’t stop there. Gabrielle also ended up using her connections from Fiji for her own support.
She had a period of time when she was struggling amid concerns about her sister’s mental health. Gabrielle reached out to Carl, a former Rustic program leader, even though she had only been a student of his for two weeks.
“The trust I formed with him during our short time together in Fiji was so strong, it carried on when I was in a time of trouble, and he popped into my mind instantly,” Gabrielle said.
“Carl became a confidant for lots of issues. He gives good advice and has so much compassionate energy.”
Gabrielle’s Worldwide Network of Rustic Pathways Friends
It’s common for cultural immersion opportunities to continue long after Rustic journeys end.
Gabrielle says she has been able to build a network of peers in different parts of the world as a result of her trips.
After she participated in the Lake Titicaca Service Adventure program in Peru in 2014, she travelled to Japan to visit two friends.
She had met Joanna and Karen during her Rustic journey to Laos the year before, and joining her on this trip was one of her newer Rustic friends – Conor, who she met while in Peru.
Conor continued to be a friend long after this international trip.
Later he invited Gabrielle and other Rustic alumni to his home in Toronto for a reunion.
Then he stayed with Gabrielle’s family for a summer while he did an internship in Dallas before he went on to graduate from Harvard University.
Gabrielle said these friendships have made a world of difference in her life.
“I am very fortunate to have met the kindest, coolest, and most interesting people on these trips,” Gabrielle said.
“It has changed my life in so many different ways, and I am so thankful.”
Gabrielle’s Search for Megan Reynolds After Fiji
It can be difficult for local community members like this to keep in touch, but Gabrielle saw how hard one young boy she encountered in Fiji tried.
She said the young boy gave her a letter and told her to please find Megan Reynolds to give it to her.
When Gabrielle returned to the United States, she says she went on a “spy mission” to find Megan.
She searched on social media for people with that name who were in her age group and reached out to them one by one.
Eventually she found the right Megan and forwarded the letter.
Then one day Gabrielle was hosting a Rustic event in her home in Dallas.
The event brought together potential Rustic students and alumni who shared photos and talked about their travels.
Gabrielle shared the story about Megan, and out of the blue a young woman in her house raised her hand.
“I am Megan Reynolds,” she said.
It’s amazing on a planet with nearly 7.7 billion people that at times it seems so small.
But that’s part of the magic of an international, immersive travel experience. It brings together so many people from so many different backgrounds who may have not met in any other way.
As Maya Angelou once said, “A friend may be waiting behind a stranger’s face.”
Gabrielle describes friendships she kept through reunions, visits and support during hard moments. Her memories concern programs from 2013 and 2014, several of which are no longer offered.
Rustic Pathways’ current Fiji program is Fiji: Sun, Sand, and Island Service. It runs 16 days for students ages 14–18 in Momi Bay and the Yasawa Islands and includes 45 service hours.
See the program page for the current itinerary and dates.
Explore Fiji: Sun, Sand, and Island Service
Keep reading: Bridget Moynihan and Olivia Halstead’s story from Peru
