Donate
Your investment uplifts Summer Searchers intro critically-conscious leaders and thriving adults.
Experiential Learning
Challenge and empower yourself through experiences designed to fuel your passions and spark your interests.
How It Works
Supported by your mentor, students are awarded scholarships to participate in summer experiences after your sophomore and junior years of high school.
Once you return home, partner with your mentors and reflect on your experiences to build on what you learned.
After Your Sophomore Year…
Your first summer experience!
Most Summer Searchers head outdoors and experience a hiking/backpacking adventure, featuring lots of time connecting with peers and opportunities to gain leadership skills.
Pictured: Seattle students on an Outdoor Adventure with YMCA BOLD & GOLD on the Olympic Coast in Washington.
Next Up: After Junior Year
After Your Junior Year…
Time for your second trip!
High school juniors are usually offered an array of experiences to choose from, including service-learning abroad, academic programs on college campuses, hybrid leadership development programs, internship opportunities, and more.
Pictured: Philadelphia students on an Environmental Justice Brigade experience.
Next Up: Senior Year & Beyond
Your Senior Year and Beyond…
The learning and growth continues (not just during the summer)!
Beginning in your senior year of high school, you have access to numerous people, resources, and opportunities year-round.
From experiences like additional academic programs and workshops, to career-focused internships/externships, webinars, networking events, and even opportunities to connect with career coaches, and more.
Pictured: Summer Search alumni, staff, and partners connecting at the 2023 Alumni Summit and Leadership Conference.
Next Up: After Sophomore Year
Why learn experientially?
Try something new.
Expand your comfort zone.
Apply your strengths and embrace your opportunities.
Build friendships and connections.
Discover more about what you’re capable of.
Explore who you are and who you want to become!
“In all honesty, this trip was amazing and it will be a core memory for me. There were so many highlights.”
~ Elisha (left) from Summer Search Bay Area, reflecting on her trip, a 21-Day “Young Women’s Adventure” with Environmental Traveling Companions (ETC).
Outdoor Adventures
Challenge yourself, explore the world!
From hiking, backpacking, camping, or canoeing programs in your region or beyond, to service and cultural immersion experiences abroad, and more.
Pictured: Deer Hill Expeditions has partnered with us for 30+ years. Deer Hill provides Summer Searchers with a unique blend of outdoor adventures and cross-cultural service projects, leaving students feeling more confident to share their gifts and strengths and as though they have gained a new family.
Academic Programs
Learn, discover, grow!
From academic programs on a college campus, to in-person/virtual classes and workshops, to international volunteer programs, to social justice initiatives, and much more.
Pictured: William shares about his experience on a two-week coding/STEM program with SAP NS2.
Internships & More
Grow your skills and build your network!
Opportunities to participate in paid internships, externships, and apprenticeships, as well as leadership development workshops, career coaching, and more.
Pictured: Summer Searchers and partners in an “Internship Intensive” to prepare students who are participating in paid internships this summer.
FAQs
Are Summer Experiences free?
Atque debitis ullam cum. Voluptatibus dolorum facere et itaque laboriosam ipsa doloribus dolores. Accusantium esse ab sit. Odio aut optio omnis dignissimos ducimus debitis sint. Est aut delectus vero.
Minima cupiditate omnis aut qui molestiae nisi voluptatem assumenda a nam voluptatem qui animi optio. Et ullam velit esse ipsam ut quis tempore id in nulla molestias. Blanditiis rerum et neque ut architecto voluptatibus. Ut ratione praesentium ducimus quasi est harum hic consequuntur ea beatae. Et ipsum quidem blanditiis nobis fugit ullam et et debitis inventore id dolorum molestiae adipisci est. Porro rerum architecto laboriosam veritatis temporibus similique consectetur non praesentium.
Sit iste cum et vitae sunt voluptatem non est aut eos totam et eius natus similique.
Where do we go?
Atque debitis ullam cum. Voluptatibus dolorum facere et itaque laboriosam ipsa doloribus dolores. Accusantium esse ab sit. Odio aut optio omnis dignissimos ducimus debitis sint. Est aut delectus vero.
Minima cupiditate omnis aut qui molestiae nisi voluptatem assumenda a nam voluptatem qui animi optio. Et ullam velit esse ipsam ut quis tempore id in nulla molestias. Blanditiis rerum et neque ut architecto voluptatibus. Ut ratione praesentium ducimus quasi est harum hic consequuntur ea beatae. Et ipsum quidem blanditiis nobis fugit ullam et et debitis inventore id dolorum molestiae adipisci est. Porro rerum architecto laboriosam veritatis temporibus similique consectetur non praesentium.
Sit iste cum et vitae sunt voluptatem non est aut eos totam et eius natus similique.
How long do they last?
Atque debitis ullam cum. Voluptatibus dolorum facere et itaque laboriosam ipsa doloribus dolores. Accusantium esse ab sit. Odio aut optio omnis dignissimos ducimus debitis sint. Est aut delectus vero.
Minima cupiditate omnis aut qui molestiae nisi voluptatem assumenda a nam voluptatem qui animi optio. Et ullam velit esse ipsam ut quis tempore id in nulla molestias. Blanditiis rerum et neque ut architecto voluptatibus. Ut ratione praesentium ducimus quasi est harum hic consequuntur ea beatae. Et ipsum quidem blanditiis nobis fugit ullam et et debitis inventore id dolorum molestiae adipisci est. Porro rerum architecto laboriosam veritatis temporibus similique consectetur non praesentium.
Sit iste cum et vitae sunt voluptatem non est aut eos totam et eius natus similique.
Why should I participate?
Atque debitis ullam cum. Voluptatibus dolorum facere et itaque laboriosam ipsa doloribus dolores. Accusantium esse ab sit. Odio aut optio omnis dignissimos ducimus debitis sint. Est aut delectus vero.
Minima cupiditate omnis aut qui molestiae nisi voluptatem assumenda a nam voluptatem qui animi optio. Et ullam velit esse ipsam ut quis tempore id in nulla molestias. Blanditiis rerum et neque ut architecto voluptatibus. Ut ratione praesentium ducimus quasi est harum hic consequuntur ea beatae. Et ipsum quidem blanditiis nobis fugit ullam et et debitis inventore id dolorum molestiae adipisci est. Porro rerum architecto laboriosam veritatis temporibus similique consectetur non praesentium.
Sit iste cum et vitae sunt voluptatem non est aut eos totam et eius natus similique.
In Your Area
Bay Area Summer!
In 2023, 197 Bay Area students participated in a summer experience, a number we hadn’t reached since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Summer Searchers went on transformational trips across the globe, including outdoor adventures in Northern California and the Pacific Northwest, an arts program in Southern California, academic programming at Brown University, and service-learning trips in South America.
We were also thrilled to expand our summer experience offerings through new partnerships with local organizations, such as YMCA San Francisco and GirlVentures, an Oakland-based BIPOC nonprofit that combines outdoor adventure with social emotional learning for adolescent girls. Through these partnerships, we have been able to offer shorter experiences for students who aren’t able to attend our 2-3 week-long trips and forge relationships with organizations whose values align with those of Summer Search.
Next Up: Boston
Boston Summer!
In 2023, 239 Boston students participated in a summer experience. We offered 38 total Summer Experiences and around 95% of students were placed on one of their top three choices.
Each program partner hosted an orientation for all participants and students were supported by their mentor by talking through expectations, managing challenges, and setting goals.
One of the goals of 2023 was to have our trip partners be 15% BIPOC or women-led. We are happy to report that 60% were BIPOC or women-led/owned!
Next Up: NYC
New York City Summer!
In 2023, 167 NYC Summer Searchers participated in outdoor adventures, academic programming, enriching internship opportunities, powerful Environmental Justice experiences, international service trips, and more.
Our young people, many of whom have never participated in summer enrichment experiences, return from their trips with anew purpose and realize the strength they have within themselves to achieve anything.
Next Up: Philadelphia
Philadelphia Summer!
Consequatur dolor laborum sint itaque velit reprehenderit blanditiis natus esse quis doloribus voluptates non qui et. Blanditiis iusto itaque est sequi ut inventore incidunt provident voluptatem et sunt harum asperiores tempora. Excepturi doloribus explicabo laboriosam quis tempore.
Next Up: Seattle
Seattle Summer!
In 2023, 84 Seattle students went on a summer experience.
We also continued to diversify our experiential offerings with camps focused on a variety of skills in business, healthcare, and technology while also sending students to places like Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, and Fiji for free.
Next Up: Bay Area
Partners In Transformative Summers
Our summer program partners provide the scholarships and equipment for the essential programs and opportunities that launch our high school sophomores and juniors into a brand-new way of seeing the world.
We partner with organizations that allow Summer Searchers to connect and bond with others, explore identity in a safe space, and challenge themselves as much as they’d like.
Beyond High School:
People, Resources, and Opportunities
Beginning in your senior year of high school, you have access to numerous people, resources, and opportunities year-round.
This includes experiences like additional academic programs and workshops, to career-focused internships/externships, webinars, networking events, and even opportunities to connect with career coaches, and more.
Explore opportunities on Summer Search CONNECT or speak with your mentor to learn more.
English 
العربية 
বাংলা 
简体中文 
Français 
한국어 
فارسی 
Español de Colombia 
Español de República Dominicana 
Español de México 
Español de Puerto Rico 
Español de Venezuela 
Tagalog 
Tiếng Việt