Global Glimpse enabled my venture to a place where the scenery is so gorgeous that it looks fake, the culture is alive and thriving, and where memories and family are established.
Global Glimpse is a non-profit organization based in Berkeley, California. The organization was started in 2007 with the first trips heading out in the summer of 2008 to Nicaragua. Global Glimpse is catered to high school juniors who would like to improve and practice their leadership skills, gain community service experience, and immerse themselves into other developing countries (abroad to Ecuador, Panama, or the Dominican Republic*) culture. The trip runs for 16 days, 15 nights and the price tag comes in at $4,000. Included in the price tag are accommodation, airfare, and activities expenses. To make the program accessible, Global Glimpse has a pool of financial donors to relieve the financial stress to those who prove a need for it.
An important aspect of the trip is that no phones (including ANYTHING that connects to WiFi) are allowed, while this is a generation Z nightmare, this promotes true cultural immersion. Your snapchats and social media accounts will still be there after 16 days! Parents and friends will be able to see and comment on what you and your delegation are up to on the daily through your delegation’s very own trip blog.
Another key component is that students from all over the Bay Area region are randomly mixed into delegation groups to promote genuine new connections amongst our regional peers.
The Bay Area Programs Coordinator, Carissa Villafaña states that Global Glimpse’s mission is “…to inspire the next generation of leaders to think and act as responsible global citizens, to create a space for intercultural exchange for people in the U.S. and abroad, and to provide educational travel opportunities for students from all socioeconomic backgrounds.”
Western Massachusetts Program Associate, Jamie Sharken chimes in by reinstating that, “Global Glimpse is the only youth travel organization that places diversity and equity at the heart of our model.”
Both Villafaña and Sharken commented on how countries are selected. Villafaña states, “We select our countries based on the level of safety first and then the richness of culture and history.” Sharken goes into depth about the eligibility by saying, “From my understanding, these countries were chosen because they were a great geographical location with cheaper flights (than other developing countries), local connections and incredibly welcoming communities.
Carissa commented on what is in the works for Global Glimpse as of now by announcing that, “Global Glimpse is currently strategizing to create a 3-year growth plan where we will grow 20-30% from now until 2021. This will mean more students, more educators, more partner schools and bigger programs in the US and abroad!”
Juniors Itzel Olmedo and Ivan Villanueva are part of the new class of Glimpsers, ironically, they are going on the same trip (a rarity for Glimpsers from the same partner school!) to San Juan de la Maguana, the Dominican Republic from August 8th to August 23rd and shared their input on their experience so far.
Villanueva’s interest in Global Glimpse grew because he loves traveling. He hopes to gain an insightful experience from this trip because he plans on studying International Relations in college.
Both students expressed that more support would be desirable in financial aid. While Olmedo claims that, “The scholarship I was given is definitely helping me make this trip possible…”, Villanueva shared that he received no financial aid whatsoever; he would have appreciated if there was a scholarship he could apply for just so the financial aid aspect wouldn’t be so out of his hands.
Olmedo raves about how exciting it is that she will be traveling to a country she’s never been to before. She also felt more compelled to apply to the program when it was mentioned that tutoring English to students in those countries is a task all students do in their respective country program. English is her second language and she yearns to give back to her global community by providing the same support she had when she was learning English.
At James Logan High School, the program is currently run by Ms. Wright and Mr. Chan who double as Global Glimpse leaders when it’s time to organize the pre-travel workshops, information sessions, and travel in the summer. Both Chan and Wright got involved with the program through emails from previous leaders on campus asking for teachers to join and take on open leader positions.
Ms. Wright tells that the more she got to know the program, she “…has been comparing it to baby Peace Corps. It’s giving you all of the cultural immersion tools that I learned as a Peace Corps volunteer and a chance to really learn about and respect a culture other than your own while also offering the skills you [James Logan students] bring, you know, your mastery of English and your ability to do work if they ask you to.”
Mr. Chan plans to use his advantage of being a history teacher and being a former Boy Scout (an Eagle Scout, to be exact) to prepare for his trip, he is prepared to put his basic EMT and CPR skills to the test! Chan also shares that he’s excited to “travel and get to the summer and then off with the kids!”
Students who complete their trips and want to continue in the program may apply to the ambassador program. Ambassadors run the pre-trip workshops and attend summits which occur every other month. Gabriela Bedolla went to Riobamba, Ecuador from June 26th, 2018 to July 11th, 2018.
Bedolla recounts that preparing for the program was scary because “…as the date was getting closer and closer I was getting nervous, like ‘oh, am I going to make friends? Am I actually gonna enjoy it?’ And to my surprise, I did actually enjoy it and I overcame it by trusting the program.”
Adrian Barajas went to Riobamba, Ecuador from August 1st, 2018 to August 16th, 2018. He describes his favorite leader as Marie because “…she was one of the realest people there, she talks to you straight up.” Barajas kept the “pass the torch” necklace from when he was the “Líder del Día” (translates to Leader of the Day, which students trade off every day but you must earn it by showing your delegation a talent, he earned it by performing Happy Birthday in sign language) because it signified the journey his delegation took together.
Students from the RB3C delegation also spoke out about their experiences about their trip with Global Glimpse. Shivani Upadhyay from Mission San Jose High School recounts that it “forced me to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. It was refreshing and eye-opening to see a place so different from the sheltered bubble I’m used to at home.”
Jared Salazar from Impact Academy of Arts & Technology contributed that “one of the main factors that led to it being so life changing was being without technology. I had pretty major social anxiety issues prior to the trip and I would oftentimes isolate myself to my phone. But being without it for once and forcing myself out of my comfort zone allowed me to start my journey into becoming more confident.”
Jasper Liles from Lincoln High School supports by stating that Global Glimpse “gives kids leadership skills and the ability to work with local communities.”
Last but not least, Chayse Choyce from Lighthouse Community Charter School raves about how it was his first time going to the airport. “Scariest thing ever. But you guys calmed me down.”
To find out more, go to https://globalglimpse.org/.
*Countries are subject to change depending on how safe it is for travel.
