Why do some teen travel programs yield change and others don’t? After 12,000+ students, one pattern keeps surfacing: transformation happens in the stretch zone. Too comfortable and teens stay the same. Too stressed and they shut down. The programs that work find the middle. The ones that don’t, don’t. Every year, parents Google “summer activities for teens” or “teen travel programs” and ask us which ones work. Most don’t. They entertain. They distract. But few transform. (If you’re looking for teen travel, try here) The difference isn’t the destination or even the activities. It’s whether the program operates in what psychologists call the “stretch zone,” that sweet spot between boredom and panic where real growth happens. I didn’t learn this from a textbook. I learned it on a carpeted floor at Harvard, then tested it in Costa Rica, Thailand and beyond. I’ve seen teens return speaking new languages. I’ve seen them return with new friends. But the ones who really transform return as new versions of themselves. Psychology of Travel For Teens
My Harvard Awakening: A College Student Meet His Personal Growth Firehose Long before the teen tours and volunteer projects, on a cool fall day at Harvard, I sat in a circle with 11 other people. We weren’t in a lecture hall. There were no overheads and nobody took notes. It was my first T-group. Jerry Berlin, trained by Carl Rogers, asked: “How do you think others perceive you right now Shayne?” That question cracked something open. I saw how little I knew about how others saw me because my focus was on how I saw them. That experience planted a seed: personal growth happens when we meet discomfort with curiosity rather than defense. But it would take years of watching teens struggle and succeed to understand how to recreate that transformation at scale. I went to Costa Rica to build a school. Turns out I was building myself. – Jane Grehan
Dylan and Sarah: Social Skills and Student Travel as New Cultures Collide Dylan arrived in South Korea for our Seoul Searching program armed with a bag full of “wouldn’ts.” He wouldn’t try on traditional Korean clothing. Wouldn’t learn the dance steps. Wouldn’t try the food. Wouldn’t engage. But little by little, he opened up. A tentative dance step. A bit of kimchi. A moment of curiosity about k-pop. By the end, he was the last to board the bus. Not every story ends like Dylan’s. We also had Sarah, who spent most of her program homesick, participating minimally and a bit upset this was not a tourist experience. She returned home and was relieved, not transformed. She wanted fewer new environments and more familiarity. That happens too. Dylan wanted to go home. Sarah couldn’t wait to. But where Dylan opened up. Sarah shut down. She wanted more familiarity, not surprise on her trip. That’s data too. It’s not failure, just a different need. The Parent Paradox: More Ways to Connect and Impede Parents tell us they want their children to become independent, resilient adults. Then they do everything possible to prevent the experiences that build these qualities. They hover, they rescue, they smooth every path not from malice, but from love. Here’s what surprised us: 89% of parents report being more anxious than their teens about the travel. The kids are more worried about WiFi. This makes our programs critical. We create learning labs where teens can fail safely, struggle productively and discover strength they didn’t know they had in them. Where making friends with yourself outside your comfort zones becomes possible. The Science of Productive Discomfort: New Perspectives Through Teen Tours When parents ask why they should pay for their child to be uncomfortable, I share what my Harvard mentor Tal Ben-Shahar taught about the three zones: Comfort Zone: Safe but stagnant Stretch Zone: Where growth happens. The stretch zone looks different for every teen. For one, it’s ordering food in broken Spanish. For another, it’s leading a group reflection. We map each student’s edges and nudge them just past, close enough to succeed, far enough to grow. Panic Zone: That’s where we shut down We engineer experiences to keep students in the stretch zone. It’s why teenagers traveling return with expanded identities in addition to Instagram photos and full suitcases. From Tourist to Transformer: Creating New Friends and Lifelong Friends There’s a difference between being IN Greece and HOW you are in Greece. A tourist seeks pleasure and Instagram moments. A transformer seeks growth and meaning. When a privileged American teen serves meals in a Thai orphanage, when they realize their new friends have never owned shoes, when they discover many benefits of discomfort. These are the moments create new selves. Cultural Immersion is the Intervention Every Teen Needs If I could design one intervention for every teenager, it would be our three-week service expedition. We’ve woven psychological principles into fun: Instead of listing theories, here’s what it looks like: A teen struggling with social skills finds themselves teaching English in a rural school. The skills they’re building are more than linguistic—they’re learning the language of resilience, of connection across difference of finding friends in unexpected places. What We Know About Measuring Teen Travel Impact We’re still developing rigorous assessment tools, but preliminary data from our 2024 post-program survey shows: 73% of participants report increased confidence navigating unfamiliar situations six months later 81% maintain contact with new people met during programs 67% pursue additional cultural immersion experiences within two years These programs require significant investment, typically $4,000-6,000 for two to three weeks. We offer need-based scholarships covering up to 75% of costs, though we don’t offer many and this price point puts it out of reach for most families. I know if 16-year-old me had asked my parents for $6,000 to fly to Japan, my parents would have laughed me out of the room and suggested I get to know other cultures at the Wicomico Public Library. Which is exactly what I did. And it’s exactly why we’re now piloting a $500 weekend program in Appalachia after doing one this summer in Denver. Transformation shouldn’t require a trust fund. Let’s be honest: These programs serve a privileged slice of American teens. That bothers me. The kids who most need perspective-shifting experiences can’t access them. We’re working on this, but it’s not enough. If you have ideas, we’re listening. Our Approach: Find More Ways to Support Student Travel We’re working to close other gaps we have: Language skills development: Parents want teenagers traveling overseas to return with invaluable experiences like stumbling over their mediocre high school French. Local options: Not every family can travel internationally. We’re exploring more domestic programs. And the price thing above. The Future of Teen Travelers We don’t pretend our model fits every teen. Some need more structure than adventure. Some families need different approaches. And yes, selection bias is real. The teens who sign up may already be open to personanl growth. We’re running an experiment in human potential, and we need better data. If you’re a researcher studying adolescent development, let’s collaborate. If you’re a parent whose kid came back changed (or didn’t), tell us why. If you’re a teen who’s been through any transformative program, what actually mattered? Email me at hello@rusticpathways.com. Every story helps us build better. About the Author Shayne Fitz-Coy is co-founder of Sabot Family Companies, a long term investment company founded in 2016 in Stanford, California. Shayne is an innovator and entrepreneur with a keen eye for managing growing enterprises. Through his investment in Rustic Pathways, he has overseen student travel experiences for over 10,000 students across 38+ countries. His approach to teen development combines theoretical psychological training with practical business leadership. Foundational Training: At Harvard College, Shayne gained practical experience as he studied Psychology under three influential mentors whose frameworks directly shape Rustic Pathways’s transformative approach: Jerry Berlin, Carl Rogers-trained psychologist and pioneer of T-group methodology, whose experiential approach to human connection became the foundation for program design/ Richard Hackman, co-creator of Job Characteristics Theory, whose research on meaningful work and intrinsic motivation informs how we structure service projects to maximize teen engagement and ownership. Tal Ben-Shahar, positive Psychology pioneer, whose framework on comfort, stretch, and panic zones guides our calibration of challenge levels. This combination of humanistic psychology’s emphasis on authentic encounter (Berlin), work design’s focus on meaningful contribution (Hackman), and positive psychology’s growth frameworks (Ben-Shahar) provides the psychological architecture for programs that transform instead of merely entertaining. Professional Credentials: B.A. in Psychology, Harvard College (cum laude) MBA, Stanford Graduate School of Business Co-Founder, Sabot Family Companies CEO of Rustic Pathways, Alert-1, and responselink.ai Forbes Business Council Member Published contributor to Inc. Magazine, Entrepreneur and Fast Company Impact & Expertise: Designed and overseen programs for 12,329+ teen participants Pioneered psychology-based approach to experiential education Developed “stretch zone” teen travel programming Regular speaker on college admissions, volunteer service, adolescent development and transformative travel programs Connect with Shayne: Website: shaynefitzcoy.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/shaynefitzcoy Company: rusticpathways.com Note: This article reflects one approach to teen development. Parents should evaluate all summer programs based on their child’s individual needs, maturity and circumstances. Rustic Pathways maintains comprehensive safety protocols and professional staff training for all international programs.