ANYELY

Alaska has been and always will be one of the biggest blessings in my life. If I would’ve never gone to Alaska, I wouldn’t be able to be so outgoing or emotionally stable to balance freshman year along with softball. I learned how to believe in myself. I learned in Alaska that life is so much more than just your phone or being socially accepted by others around you. You learn that there is a whole other world out there. A world where your worries seem so far away and your future seems so much bigger and brighter than before. We learned that we are far more capable of doing things than we ever imagined. You will learn that it’s not just about what you can do on your own, but what you can do TOGETHER as a team and a family. These girls will become like sisters, and no one else will go through that same experience with you. I learned all of these lessons having to do with life and the strength within me that I never thought I had because of this amazing experience. I can never repay what all of these people have given me. I have a new family and a new perspective of the world. 

JAMEL

Ever since I was in grade school, I have always been a germaphobe. I never liked camping, and I never liked the cold. So you could imagine my skepticism when I was initially asked by my Principal if I would like to go to Alaska. When I tell people about Alaska, I tell them about the Mini Airplanes that we flew in, I tell them about the fish that I caught, I tell them about the glacier that I climbed, and I never forget to leave out the rafting trip that we took. I watch people’s facial expression turn to astonishment as I tell them about how there were no showers, toilets, or electricity. Anyone that knows me well couldn’t believe that someone like me could go on such a trip.

I then go on to tell them that all it took was a little adapting. After I got used to the environment that I was in, I actually started to enjoy it. I became a totally different person in Alaska. I stopped worrying so much about the dirt around me and how neatly organized everything was. I got to self-reflect much more without a screen in my face 24/7, and I got to bond with a group of kids who changed my life. If you would have told me that I was going to go to Alaska a couple years ago, I would have looked at you as if you needed medical attention. Now, I couldn’t imagine not going on this trip, as it has shaped and molded me from the countless experiences and factors that I have come across in Alaska.

PARIS

Our backpacking trip up Bonanza Mountain was one of the most strenuous hikes that I had ever been on. As it got hotter and sweat poured down my back and my eyes, I just wanted to quit and go home. But when I looked around me, I noticed that the other girls were struggling too, and a warm community formed around me. They reassured me that I’m gonna get through it, and I did. We did together. In that moment, I not only was satisfied by the community that I had around me, but from that moment on, it taught me that I could do anything that I put my mind to.

This program has done so much for me, and I could talk about it for days- how it grew my character, how I am able to do things I never thought I could do. And I hope this program is able to show more young women of color how they can get through anything that they put their minds to.

SAMUEL

We created the Graduate to Guide Program to provide relatable role models for our diverse youth. When the kids we bring up to Alaska from Brooklyn are led by people who look like them, they don't feel like outsiders. Seeing guides in this outdoor space who are similar to themselves helps our kids absorb the wilderness experience more fluidly and integrate it into themselves more easily as something that can be a part of their truth. I am humbled to have the opportunity to be a core part of this mission, which has no historic precedent.