How Our Teen Travel Scholarships Work & Who Benefits

Apruva Anand and Anghelina Severin live in different countries far away from one another. But the pair do have two things in common. Each received scholarships to travel with Rustic Pathways and both live in communities where not many teens travel.

Apurv says his parents in Jhumri Telaiya, India were hesitant to allow him to travel to Thailand for the Thai Elephant Conservation Project.

“Initially they were reluctant to let me go because I was traveling alone for the first time to a new country,” Apurv said. “After I showed them the videos and everything, they got really excited.”

And Anghelina was only able to travel to South Korea from her country of Moldova with her parents’ help. They drove out of town to get Anghelina a visa for the Seoul Searching: Modern Korea program after efforts to get one for Costa Rica failed. Her parents signed a legal form to allow Anghelina to travel alone.

“It was very hard to prepare all the documents for traveling, but thankfully it was not hard for me to cross the South Korean border,” Anghelina said.

They are not alone in having this experience. Since 2017, Rustic has committed more than $800,000 in scholarships and financial aid to students around the world. They include students in the United States who have never been on a plane and teens from underserved communities where travel is usually not affordable.

These scholarships have opened doors to new career interests and schooling aspirations, and they are only possible through the generosity of other families.

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How Our Scholarship Award Process Unfolds

Each year our scholarship committee keeps track of one very important number – how much money has been donated to our scholarship fund. That number decides how many students receive assistance.

The scholarships are based both on merit and financial need. Interested students submit proof of household income, answer three essay questions and submit a video.

Deciding which students receive scholarships is a difficult job. There are many more worthy applicants than there are funds. And most recipients receive partial aid, meaning they need to fundraise to cover the rest of the costs.

In some cases, career aspirations are a motivating factor. Some students want to travel to see if they’d like to pursue a certain job path.

Nyiaka Bean from Montgomery, Texas is one of these students. She traveled to Thailand for the Marine and Rainforest Conservation program in 2023 as she considered a career in marine biology.

“I have always felt called to the ocean and dreamed about going somewhere that I can really make a change,” Nyiaka said. “Thailand was my first choice because of its rich and diverse ecosystem. I want to help different types of marine life and dig deep into what I am really interested in.”

Nyiaka’s program is helping her decide what her next steps may be. And other scholarship students are in the same boat.

Like Nyiaka, Adia Lee from Oakland, California is interested in animal conservation, though she’s more focused on land animals. Before her journey with Rustic in 2023, Adia had never left the United States.

She attended the Thai Elephant Conservation Project. There she says she learned how to bathe and take care of elephants, play with them in lakes and mud, make their food and medicine, and work with local restoration ecologists to prevent habitat loss through deforestation.

“Not only did I make memories that’ll last a lifetime, my love for animals only continued to grow, and it’s what I plan to pursue in college after I graduate,” Adia wrote. “Words cannot express the level of gratitude I hold for you all.”

That thankfulness comes amid statistics from the Pew Research Center, showing these types of travel experiences are uncommon for Americans from several demographic groups. This data is a driving force behind Rustic Pathways’ Travel for All scholarship initiatives.

Who Travels – And Who Doesn’t

Over the last several decades, international travel has greatly increased as people realize the joys and benefits of visiting other countries. The Pew Research Center found in 2021 that the majority of Americans have been out of the country at least once in their lives, representing about 71% of the population. Not surprisingly, those with lower income levels are far less likely to travel.

Nearly half of the people in the United States earning less than $30,000 have never left the country. That compares to about 10% for those earning $80,000 or more.

There also are travel disparities based on education level, gender, and ethnic group. College-educated people are most likely to travel, with a quarter of college graduates having been to ten or more countries. Men are more likely than women to have visited multiple countries. And Black Americans are much less likely to travel than other ethnicities.

Outside of the United States, the trends are similar. Economically-strong locations tend to have a well-traveled public, ranging from Scandinavian countries to Hong Kong.

Of course geography makes a difference. The World Tourism Organization found four-fifths of tourists travel within their own region. It’s certainly easier to travel internationally if you’re only a hop, skip and jump from another country’s border.

But these stats represent the adult population. The number of younger people traveling is not as well documented. However, many young people around the world clearly want to travel to learn about other cultures and work on their English skills. As the world economy uses English more for business, learning the language can be a key to financial security.

Rustic Pathways regularly gives a small number of scholarships to international students to give them opportunities to travel and enrich the programs for everyone. Like other international students, Anghelina shared her Moldovan culture both to her fellow travelers and the South Korean students she met. She handed out chocolate candies called Chișinăul de Seara and Moldovan jams, including ones made from green walnuts.

In turn she was able to learn about South Korean education while visiting a local school. And that triggered her motivation to make changes in her country.

“It was probably the biggest school I’ve ever seen in my life… The science classes and technologies were amazing,” Anghelina said. “I would compare my education with theirs, and I would just know these kids are smarter than I am. I have so much motivation to fight for education in my country after visiting South Korea.”

Other scholarship recipients similarly were inspired to bring their travel lessons home. Apurv hopes to go to college in India for economics and maybe launch a nonprofit organization some day. Whatever he does in the future, he says he won’t forget his journey in 2023, and for that he is grateful.

“Thank you for believing in me…Your kindness and support have made a significant impact on my life,” Apurv wrote. “I am committed to paying it forward by using the knowledge and experiences gained to make a positive difference in our world.”

Now we’re looking for more motivated students to inspire and donors to pave the way as scholarships applications roll in over the next few months. For more information on our scholarships, please visit our financial aid page. To donate funds for a student, please visit the Rustic Pathways Foundation website.