Summer Students Shoulder-to-Shoulder Trips
This summer, five FWCD students participated in Students Shoulder-to-Shoulder trips in four different countries, both abroad and in the U.S.
James Hanson ’28 and Jack Rodgers ’28 traveled to Nepal to study sustainable development, rural education and women’s empowerment. Nicky Burdman ’28 journeyed to Puerto Rico to learn about environmental leadership, food sovereignty, conservation and regenerative farming practices. Evie Blan ’27 went to San Diego to explore the intersection of mental health, community well-being and ocean conservation through the innovative practice of surf therapy. Abigail Dzurik ’28 visited Costa Rica to study sea turtle conservation and coastal ecosystems. Read their takeaways below to learn more about their experiences. View their photos.
James Hanson ’28
“My experience in Nepal was one I will remember for my entire life. I was exposed to a whole new culture and a whole new perspective of the world. While our group was in Nepal, we toured sites in Kathmandu, helped build a school in a village, and hiked the Himalayas. We stayed in the Solukhumbu region for most of the trip. This was where The Small World, the organization that works with Shoulder-to-Shoulder, was located. Our living style was definitely different from what we are used to in the United States, but it was still a lot of fun. The views of the mountains were astonishing. The people in Nepal who led us in what we did were awesome, and I will always remember them. Also, the people in my group were awesome as well. We spent 17 days together. Our leaders helped guide me through the trip by helping me learn more about myself. I met a lot of cool people from our group who were from different parts of the United States. This trip was truly life-changing, and I would recommend a trip like this to anyone who wants to travel the world.”
Nicky Burdman ’28
“I landed in San Juan and met with the trip leaders, and then the next few days, we went to various farms and learned about the different ways the Puerto Rican locals worked toward sustainable farming. Most days,we would eat breakfast at the hotel, work for half of the day, eat lunch, and then do an activity, like a hike or art, for the other half. I would go swimming in the evenings since the days were usually hot. It was sad to say goodbye to the people I met during that week. I would recommend others try this trip.”
Jack Rodgers ’28
“The trip was an amazing experience. I went with a friend from Country Day (James Hanson), and ended up meeting a ton of new people. The whole Shoulder-to-Shoulder team was great and fun to be around, and so were the other students on the trip. I really enjoyed the trekking, and seeing Nepal. We saw the urban part of Nepal, as well as the more rural regions. The lifestyle is a lot different in the rural areas, and the whole culture is different from that in the U.S. The service part of the trip was great. We dug holes for the foundation of a building that helped a Nepali orphanage. We learned a great deal through the service aspect. The trip was eye-opening, and I learned many things that I was able to take home. I would definitely recommend this trip to anyone interested.”
Evie Blan ’27
“We worked with two organizations, Groundswell Community Project and Good Neighbor Gardens. With Groundswell, we partnered with girls from Ukraine to learn about how the ocean can be therapeutic and healing. We learned how to surf and had so much fun cheering each other on. We worked with the Founder of Good Neighbor Gardens and helped seniors living at a senior center plant their own garden. Throughout the week, we were able to bond with each other within the Shoulder-to-Shoulder group and others within the organizations. It was an amazing experience. I learned so much about myself and the planet.”
Abigail Dzurik ’28
“The first part of my experience was travel. The group, which was 10 high school students and two teacher leaders from around the country, met up at Miami airport. We were there for around 5-6 hours, and it was a little awkward at first. By the time we reached San Jose, we were much closer as a group. We spent the night in San Jose and spent the next day traveling before arriving at Turtle Trax in San Miguel Beach. We stayed there for nine days, and this part of the trip was my favorite portion. I believe it was the same for most of the group. During this time, we all grew close to one another, which made the experience worthwhile. While at Turtle Trax, we did a lot of work on the beach: We measured out segments, painted markers, repaired nets, and spent most of our time building a turtle hatchery. The hatchery build was tedious as sand needed to be cleared of roots and any materials that could potentially spread bacteria through the nests, so we spent a lot of time shoveling. Mornings were more work-heavy, and afternoons had more free time. At night, we did night patrol on the beach, walking up and down the beach looking for turtles and nests. When we found turtles, we got to watch them build their nests and lay eggs. When we found their tracks, we had to dig like crazy to find the nests. We recovered over 500 turtle eggs. My favorite part of night patrols was the stars; you could see the whole Milky Way. Our last day at Turtle Trax was bittersweet. Everyone was excited to go up to La Fortuna in the mountains, but we were all sad to leave. At La Fortuna, most of our time was spent working with Real Costa Rica, a people-focused organization. We mainly volunteered at schools, spending time with the kids and even painted one school. We also had some more touristy days, enjoying La Fortuna's hot springs and going on a rainforest tour. It was such an amazing experience, and I learned so much about Costa Rica’s amazing plants and animals, which is a main reason why I went, and also to practice my Spanish."
