This month’s spotlights are shining on three awesome girls whose programs in Morocco, India, and Thailand far exceeded their expectations. Hear about their eye-opening experiences and the connections Nabilla, Sarah, and Maggie discovered within their new environments. Nabilla traveled to Morocco with Souqs and Service as an Ambassador scholarship recipient. She had the unique experience…
Tomorrow is Giving Tuesday, and we are going to do something radical—ask you to give. What is Giving Tuesday, you ask? It's the philanthropic answer to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and its goal is to help support important causes and nonprofits around the world. On this Giving Tuesday, we are hoping you will support the…
As 2015 quickly comes to a close, we wanted to look back on the past year and see how we impacted our global community. In collaboration with Sustainable Travel International, we've compiled the data and numbers into our 2015 Impact Report, which gives an overview of our service initiatives around the world. 2015 was a…
One of the greatest aspects of travel is the feeling of a welcoming community in an unknown place and meeting people who will help you adjust to their culture, food, and language. But what if you were forced into this new life? What if you had to leave your home behind to live in a…
This month, we're featuring Isabella, Cameron, and Maria. These three awesome Rustic alum adventured with us this past summer and shared some thoughts about what it's like to travel outside their home countries, dive into unfamiliar territory, make friends from around the world, and accomplish their biggest goals. Read on for their stories and great advice…
Traveling during your high school years is a fantastic way to broaden your perspective and grow and mature as a person. We’re especially certain of that here at Rustic Pathways! Since travel is such a transformative experience, many students write about their adventures for their college admissions essays. This is a great idea, but it…
Lance Oppenheim is a talented photographer and videographer who was awarded one of our Gap Year Global Ambassador Scholarships. While traveling throughout Southeast Asia and India, Lance was captivated by the beautiful landscapes and unique cultures he encountered. He was also surprised by the prevalence of cameras and phones, and questioned the significance of these…
Photographer guide and Rustic Crew member Michelle Kanaar worked with us in the Dominican Republic last summer, where she spent time in the bateyes, marginalized Haitian-Dominican communities mostly populated by sugarcane workers. Kanaar recently wrote an article for the Miami Herald about the hardships faced in these communities, most notably the ongoing struggle to get…
Europe has been facing a huge refugee crisis for years, but conditions have worsened in the last few months. Millions of people are fleeing their homes from war, violence, and poor living conditions and seeking help in the European Union. New York-based photographer Brandon Stanton has been chronicling personal stories of recent refugees on his…
Here at Rustic Pathways, adventure comes in all shapes in sizes. Whether your adventure is teaching English in India, learning to surf in Costa Rica, or building a new school in the Fijian Highlands, the common thread that ties each of us together is our pursuit of the unknown. During the summer of 2015, while…
Promoting your trip is all about getting the word out to interested students and their families… not to mention, it can create some pretty powerful results! Below are 10 simple, yet effective, suggestions on how to promote your trip to get the sign-ups you need. Make an Announcement Talk about your program in every class…
We had an incredible summer and it was all thanks to our amazing students, staff, and families. Now that Summer 2015 is behind us, we are excited to welcome hundreds of new Rustic alumni to the Alumni Association. We're glad you're here! Stay tuned for upcoming developments with the Alumni Association. Internships, service updates, employment tips, and…
The year was 1995. During a free period at his Chicago high school, 15-year-old Christopher Regan sat in the audience during a Rustic Pathways presentation. He was immediately hooked. CR: They gave a quick schpiel and showed a video. It looked really, really fun. I was immediately interested, so I went home that evening and…
Over the weekend, Rustic Pathways was recognized as the Best Youth Tour Operator by the 2015 World Youth Student and Educational Conference. We are honored to receive this award, and we thank all of you that voted for us! As we enter our 33rd season at Rustic Pathways, we’re more excited than ever. We are…
It's been a month since our 2015 programs wrapped and we are still going through the thousands of images our photographer guides shot over the course of the summer. While we can't officially say these are the absolute best photos of the summer since there are still plenty to go through, these pictures are too good…
It’s no surprise that Rustic Pathways students care about the world around them. This month, we’re highlighting three alumni who their passions for human rights, service, and travel on their Rustic program, and continued pursuing them during college and after graduation. Read on for some great advice from Dan, Sasha, and Molly about how to go…
It's probably pretty obvious how we feel about taking a gap year, so we thought for this post we would let a Rustic alum tell you why you should consider world travel over a college classroom. Here is what Aline Aronsky has to say about taking the plunge and choosing gap. I didn’t know I would…
We had an incredible summer and it was all thanks to our amazing students, staff, and families. Thank you for trying new things, getting dirty during service, and stepping far out of your comfort zone so you could explore the world Rustic-style. This was our best summer yet and below are just a few of…
This month, we're featuring awesome alumni Nicole, Maddie, and Lena. They shared stories about their Rustic experiences and how they stayed involved in service long after their programs ended. Read below to hear about their adventures with Rustic, how their programs changed them, and advice they have for current and future Rustic students. What would you…
Whether you're traveling with us or have transitioned on to new adventures, we hope you have a meaningful, fun-filled summer! Check back in August to see what we have in store for our alumni this year! On the short list: 1. More internships and job opportunities 2. Exclusive access to new programs (revealed on Snapchat August…