Nancy Kennedy: Chewonki and Amigos

“ICYMI” is the hip, social-media-shortened way to say “in case you missed it.”

#ICYMI, over the course of the summer, we’ve received a couple of amazing shout outs on social media from our summer program partners!

Right before summer kicked off, a few members of the Chewonki team stopped by our Boston office for a pre-expedition orientation for our students.

Chewonki Directors Nancy Kennedy and Emma Carlson talked to the group of high school sophomores about what to expect from their wilderness trips, discussed the gear they’ll use and even provided samples of the granola bars they’ll eat on the trail.

A few weeks later, they wrote about that visit on their blog, and included a beautiful description of why they value having Summer Searchers on their expeditions.

“These Summer Search students have already transcended adversity and demonstrated outstanding character and determination… They’ve had life experiences that most Chewonki participants haven’t. They give as much as they take from their summer trips with us.”

But the social media love didn’t stop there!

In a recent Facebook post overflowing with kind words and exciting photos, Marta Ascherio, a staff member at Amigos de las Américas who just completed a program with a group of Summer Searchers in Mexico, talked about how impressed she is with our students’ leadership qualities.

This part was particularly great:

“Every single one of the Summer Search students I have trained in the Amigos de las Américas core curriculum has so much power. They support each other, build and maintain community, build up their leaders and their peers, have unbelievable communication skills… This summer experience with Amigos is a launching pad for them to literally take their badassness to the world.”

Wow!

We’re so grateful for our summer partners, like Chewonki and Amigos de las Américas. Their unique summer programs provide our students with the kinds of life-changing experiences that help them find their confidence, leadership skills, and as Marta put it, their “badassness.”