Last week Outward Bound Costa Rica bid farewell to the last of its Semester students. It’s been a wonderful few months and all of us in the Communications Office have really enjoyed hearing these students’ stories on transition days, experiencing their activities through photos and video and having the chance to watch them gain leadership skills and ultimately, grow as young adults.

Students who took part in our Leadership Semester, a course focused on readying participants for careers as outdoor professionals, saw many different phases throughout their 65 days in Costa Rica and Panama. The pace and rhythm of this dynamic course is referenced by Leadership student, Sarah Martin, who said, “Every time I turned around we were doing something new and exciting and in a whole new place.” Leadership students experienced a myriad of outdoor adventure excursions including scuba diving, wakeboarding, rainforest trekking and whitewater rafting. Not to mention, many Leadership students were successfully trained as Wilderness First Responders, Whitewater Rescue Technicians, Certified Lifeguards and Technical Rope Rescuers during their course.

We agree that the Leadership Semester provides the “perfect mix of learning through education and experience,” which was put perfectly by student, Wyatt Neely. We salute you, Leadership!

An equally enthusiastic ‘congratulations’ is in order for OBCR’s recent Tri-Country Semester student alumni. Tri-Country students completed our 85-day course which brought participants to various locations throughout Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama. First, the group of nine brushed up on their Spanish by taking classes here on our rainforest base and also had the chance to rockclimb in two different outdoor locations. After learning some new vocab, the group was off on their cross-country adventure to hike from the Caribbean to the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. The trip lasted a total of 24-days and landed Tri-Country students at Playa del Rey. Aside from their long trek, Tri-Country students spent time performing service work in Nicaragua, whitewater kayaking Costa Rican rivers and scuba diving in Panama.

The result of this trip can be so much more than just adventure as Tri-Country’s Gray Ellington explains: “Outward Bound challenged me mentally and physically, and as a result I have grown as a person and appreciate so many more things about life.” Well done, Tri-Country!

We wish all OBCR alumni best of luck in their future adventures. Come back and visit us soon!