Summer traveling

Sophomore Sophie Handloff (front right) visits the Colorado Rockies on an Outward Bound summer trip in 2015.

photo provided by Sophie Handloff

Sophomore Sophie Handloff (front right) visits the Colorado Rockies on an Outward Bound summer trip in 2015.

Alexis Bell, Guest Writer

“I made it through,” sophomore Sophie Handloff was thinking after spending an entire night alone in the woods. This 15 hour solo was just one of the challenging adventures Handloff accomplished while on an eight day Outward Bound hiking trip in the Colorado Rockies last summer.

The nine teens on the hike were strangers before they arrived. On the trip they climbed Mount Massive, the second highest of Colorado’s famous 14ers, mountain peaks with elevations above 14,000 feet. Everyone going on the trip had to be physically prepared for the rigorous conditions of the Rockies.

“The goal of it was really to learn a lot about yourself,” Handloff said. “I learned a lot about myself in situations that [I was] not used to being in and … [there] was a lot of teamwork.”

17 percent of the 175 people surveyed from CESJDS have been on a summer travel program. Students go in order to fill their summers with meaningful experiences. According to high school guidance counselor Rachel Soifer, these trips are great ways for students to dive deeper into interests they do not have time to pursue during the school year.

The number of students who go on summer travel programs varies from year to year. In the D.C. area, there are so many opportunities that some students do not feel the need to travel far away or pay for expensive summer programs to have an enriching summer experience. Many students go to camp, work, intern or do community service locally.

While there are many local opportunities, travel programs abroad and within the U.S. are still popular. This past summer, six JDS students went on The Jerusalem Journey (TJJ), including sophomore Justin Marks. While on the four week trip, the students tour Israel and do various activities in which they can learn about each other and the land.

For Marks, TJJ was a life changing trip. His bond with Israel became stronger and he gained a greater appreciation for this bond and the land itself.

“I don’t think that I had such a close connection to Israel before I went on the trip and I think the purpose of the trip was for us to have this new connection to Israel with a sense of spirituality in the land,” Marks said. “Israel is not just a place but it is more of holy land.”

Before going on these remarkable journeys there are usually long application processes. For Handloff this included an interview with the company. At the end of the process, they reassured her that the trip was a good one for her.

There are many resources students can use to locate the right summer travel program for them, and with summer just around the corner, now is a perfect time to start this process.

“Based on a student’s interests, a teacher or guidance counselor can share ideas about various programs [they] know [of] that students have done in the past, or guide students on where to search.  Also, students can use resources through their Naviance accounts,” Soifer said. “Students really enjoy these programs and usually report wonderful growth experiences.”