Student Testimonials

the heart of our community

Dragons Alumni

Brooke Van Horne

Bhutan Summer

“I went in this course looking to learn more about myself, gain more perspective on the world and my place in it, and to see a beautiful spot in the world. This past month has not only catalyzed my self-growth but also blown my mind with all the incredible places that we’ve been and the people I’ve met. I learned the most from the passion of my instructors and fellow students because they truly inspired me to care and learn more about the state of the world and my responsibilities as a citizen in it.”

Ivan Garcia

Bolivia Summer

“My program taught me what it means to be a responsible traveler–one who engages with local culture, one who cares for nature, one who travels not to observe…but to learn. A couple years after my course, I’ve realized how important my course was in helping me develop my own identity and think about the role that I play in tackling many of the contemporary issues our world faces. This program instilled me with the values and skills needed to be a positive force for change nowadays.”

Vanessa Payne

Guatemala Summer

“One of the moments that has always stayed with me from my time on my program comes from a conversation I had with an instuctor. He quoted G.K. Chesterton (who has subsequently become one of my favourite 20th century thinkers) and said, “The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on ones own country as a foreign land.” This has consistently reminded me to steer away from the comfort and complacency of my own world view. Instead, I must seek to understand and adopt that of others whose lives are drastically different from mine own.”

Will Levan

Peru Summer & Nepal Semester

“Exploring new cultures and parts of the world with complete strangers taught me important lessons in living with uncertainty. Regardless of the questions I have about where I am in life or where I’m going, I know that every decision I make is the right one and that life’s impermanence is something to appreciate. As an instructor said to me: “Life is a pilgrimage; all you can do is keep walking and keep questioning.”

Danielle Mullings

Andes & Amazon Semester

“I’ve learned to trust in the uncertainty of life. It is there that your greatest growth may come from. Trust in both the journey and your ability to maneuver it step by step and breath by breath.”

Dragons Alumni

Jack Flanders

Nepal Semester

“Not a day goes by where I don’t think about my trip. My biggest takeaway was the beauty of this earth. Going into my program experience, I paid little attention to the beauty this world had to offer.  After my trip, I can confidently say that I care so much more about this earth and the fight to keep it alive. I learned how to respect a foreign culture and learned how to find connections with people who grew up 7,000 miles from where I did.”

Dragons Alumni

Ellie Kunitz-Levy

China Semester

“My largest takeaway has been this: steadfast confidence in my ability to make connections, exhibit growth in stressful situations and in environments that are foreign and new to me. My program’s stance on growth truly solidified my knowledge on several truths about myself; how far I can be pushed, what I can endure and overcome, and how I can grow.”

Babette Kania

Indonesia Semester

“My time on my program helped me to see that family is family and people are people, no matter where they are in the world, what religion they practice, or what language they speak. Despite our many differences, we are all capable of connecting with each other as human beings.”

Noah Seltzer

China Semester

“Throughout the course, my understanding of culture shifted dramatically. Never had I seen such vitality in traditional ways of living. Seeing these cultures allowed me to re-evaluate and understand my relationship to my own cultural background, specifically Judaism, and see the value it contains. I was able to see the beauty in customs and traditions I had never fully engaged with and, in turn, I found myself delving deeper into my own cultural history.”


Alumni Ambassadors

Each year we select ambassadors to inform various aspects of Dragons such as outreach, programming, alumni relations, and Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) initiatives.


Financial Aid