Providing teens with a culturally-immersive international travel experience is the best investment you can make as a parent. We explain why.
When teens have a better understanding of their interests and passions, and how they can apply those interests in a real-world context, they’re able to make better choices about what they want to study in college and pursue professionally.
Exploring a new culture helps students better understand their place in the world and how their decisions impact others. It’s essential that all future leaders develop a global perspective that will enable them to find creative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing issues.
During their Rustic experiences, students will meet and have conversations with locals, try new foods, and learn about cultural practices. Partnering with local community members on service projects also provides students an invaluable opportunity to work with people from different backgrounds, experiences in a harmonious and productive way.
As our world becomes increasingly connected, traveling responsibly is essential to being a global citizen. Understanding how to work with local communities to develop and implement initiatives that improve lives is an important part of Rustic programs that we believe gives students the ability to continue their impact after returning home.
Non-cognitive skills like independence, empathy, and self-awareness are essential to future academic, professional, and interpersonal success. Structured travel experiences allow students to exercise these capabilities in supportive and safe environments, resulting in immense personal growth and skills they can apply in the classroom and their personal lives after returning home.
Lauren brings experience from across Rustic Pathways’ sales and operations, including as our Strategic Partnerships Manager and USA Country Director. She lives between two Caribbean cities—New Orleans and Santo Domingo—and spends time by the ocean in New England where she grew up. She is a Temple University alumnus and non-fiction reader. You can usually find her hosting unexpected parties, exploring cities, or hiking the bayous with her family.
