Costa Rica 2010: Meet the Team

18 Students, 12 Days, 4 Teachers, 3 Methods, 1 Aim.

Meet the Students

Matyas, 16

I guess I really want to go on this trip to see the world and help people in the process. The furthest I've ever been from home was Atlanta, Georgia for my school's robotics competition, so a trip to a different country is a pretty worrisome move. Despite my worries, I am able to keep spirits high and help get people motivated and look at the positives of any situation.

Courtney, 17

I want to be a part of this expedition because I believe this experience will allow me to look at components of my life in a new way, while getting the opportunity to experience life in an entire different setting. Florida is the furthest I have ever been away from home. The strengths that I believe I contribute to the team would be a having a strong work ethic in stressful environments, as well as complete compassion for those around me. I am always willing to lend a hand and help out in any way at anytime. One of the most important challenges that I think I will face and hope to overcome include losing sight of the mission. I find that I am easily discouraged by setbacks, and I hope that I will learn how to overcome that fact throughout the duration of the trip.

Cherie, 17

The reason I want to go on this trip is because I want to gain a life changing experience that will help me answer some of life's biggest questions. This trip will be the farthest I've ever been from home, but I have been to Georgia and Mississippi. I got a little homesick on these trips, but I hope to avoid that this time, so that I'm able to enjoy the whole experience. My weakness that will cause conflict for myself on this trip is that I often avoid congregating with new people because I feel like it's too awkward, but my strengths of working on a group and willingness to get along with others will help overcome that.

LaShai, 17

I wanted to be a part of this expedition for several reasons. My main goal out of this journey is to help better the lives of others while getting to know them as well. While getting to know and help them I also want to learn more about myself, like what is really important to me and what I really want to do in life. I hope that at the end of this trip I will be a better person and have a grip on things I need and want to do in life.

Alyssa, 17

I have always wanted to travel abroad, and thought this trip would be a great way to do so. I am excited to be able to explore Costa Rican culture, become more fluent in Spanish, and be able to help others beyond the city of Pittsburgh and the United States. I am okay with traveling and being away from home for a long period of time, but I am worried about the food I will have to eat since I can be a picky eater.

Danielle, 18

I have never traveled so far away from home. The farthest I have traveled was Florida. The reason I want to be part of this expedition to Costa Rica is because I want to learn about a different culture and experience it firsthand. Also, this will be a once in a life time experience that will more than likely change my life. The strengths that I will bring to this trip are my ability of being a team player and being a hard worker. Some of the challenges that I think I may face is trying to speak Spanish.

Larry, 17

I want to be a part of this trip because it seems like it would be a great experience to have fun all the while learning and helping. There are a lot of things that I think I’ll get out of this trip it will truly be and inspirational and life chancing experience. I think that I can contribute my personality and my communication skills to the group in addition to a good laugh. The parts that I am really looking forward to would be the interviews especially of political leader Epsy Campbell.

Melina, 17

I want to gain deeper friendships, more self confidence, volunteer opportunities, and the ability to travel somewhere out of the country. I think it’ll be interesting experiencing a whole other culture for twelve full days (eating, living, and working like they do). I hope to gain a better outlook on life and learn to not take things for granted. Traveling far away from friends and family I think will be one of my tough challenges. I think that some of my strengths that will get put into this trip will be hard work, good listening, and getting things done on time.

Nathan, 18

What I hope to gain from this trip is to gain an appreciation of other cultures throughout the world. The further I have traveled from my house is Florida. One strength that I offer to the team is that I am a person that can keep others motivated which will help us in the long run. I am very excited for this trip, and I cannot wait till we leave.

Emily, 16

To be part of this trip to Costa Rica would mean that I am going to develop as a person, and I am a big believer in character development. I think facing a lot of challenges will get me to change for the better, genuinely. I have never been very far from home, and this will be the first time I ever leave the country, but I am very excited to learn about and envelope myself in a different way of life. I will be good at helping people, and pulling meaning from my surroundings, but I will have a little trouble with patience, and I need to be surer about my language skills before I leave.

Arturo, 17

This trip would give me an experience of working and helping the community of a different country. From previous experience in challenging labor work in Mexico and as a native speaker, I am excited in comparing the Mexican culture with the Costa Rican culture. My greatest strength, to this trip is that I can help any group member in speaking the Spanish language while in Costa Rica.

Shalyce, 16

I want to be part of this trip because I think it is a once in a life time experience and I would like to help other people. This will be the farthest I have been from home and I hope I will be go father after this trip. So far I the farthest from home I have been was Florida, not to exciting. The strengths I have would be leadership, and being open to new things. The challenges I will face will be I'm not the best Spanish speaker, and I don't really like spiders. Although, I haven't really heard about there being a lot of spiders there.

Patrick, 17

I cannot wait to travel abroad to visit Costa Rica for what is to be a life-changing experience. I want to be a part of this expedition so that I can get to know another culture while in a sense doing some self searching and exploring. The furthest that I have been away from home is NYC and the main lesson I took from that was that I need to open myself up to be able to talk to and socialize with people. My strengths that I have are that I am friendly and can pretty much socialize with anyone. Some things that I can work on are my mood swings because sometimes I get depressed for long periods of time for no reason.

Kiera, 16

I want to be a part of this expedition to Costa Rica, because I like doing new things, and going new places. I'm really excited to be with the group that I am going to be with, because they are great. I think that I will bring encouragement to the group, and I will bring laughter, which we all will do. But one thing I will be challenged with is being out of my natural environment (different food, plenty of bugs).

Ashlee, 18

I want to be a part of this expedition to Costa Rica to meet new people and become confident in myself. I have been to the Bahamas and that is the furthest I think I've been from home. Some of the strengths that I will contribute to the trip are helping others, making people happy, and even though I am tired I still will work. Some of my challenges are that I can be lazy, I complain too much, and I hate being hot.

Siena, 17

I am very grateful to have the opportunity to go on this trip. I reason that I wanted to take part in this expedition because gaining knowledge of other cultures and how people live life greatly interests me. Costa Rica will be the furthest I have been from home and also the longest I have been from my family and friends, but I am really looking forward to it. I love the group I’m going with and feel that the trip will be a great success.

Daontay, 18

From this trip I want to gain a larger perspective. I have an open mind and I really want to expand it even further. My only concern is that I will not have enough time to bask in the culture of Costa Rica.

Sam, 18

I want to go on this trip because I would like to see what life is like outside of the US. The farthest from home that I've been would probably be North Carolina. I went there when I was younger and I always liked the area we stayed in because even though we were all strangers, everyone was really close with each other. My strengths for the team would be my unbelievable wit and my great sense of humor! My greatest challenge will most likely be trying to stay positive in uncomfortable situations throughout the trip.

Meet the Teachers

Mr. Ryan Oliver, Social Studies Teacher
Science teacher Casey Wilds and I started this program five years ago aiming to provide a diverse group of students with a transformative travel experience with real depth and meaning. Over that time it has grown in size and scope due to the efforts of many talented young people and adults. I am excited to be travelling with two dedicated educators and an alum from our first trip in 2006. I am also grateful to all those who have inspired, funded, guided, promoted and encouraged this endeavor over the years. We’ll do our best to continue earning your support.

Ms. Christina Arenth, Social Studies Teacher
This is my second year helping to coordinate and chaperone City High's International Service Learning trip to Costa Rica. As a college student I had the chance to study abroad and, as a Social Studies teacher, I have enjoyed both living and working abroad before working at City High. My goal is to support the values, the learning, and the students as they progress on their journey.