We’re always proud to hear about our Outward Bound Costa Rica alumni and their amazing accomplishments. Participants of our Alumni Ambassador program help spread the word about their life changing experiences on course. If you would like to join the team and be a featured alumnus on our blog, start by filling out our Alumni Ambassador form.
Name: Mia Blackwell
Hometown: Eastham, MA
Year in school: Sophomore in High School
Courses Attended with OBCR: Costa Rica Service Challenge (2012)
Favorite memory from course
Seeing the smiles on the kids faces when we were playing with them at El Yue (an Eco-Agro Farm in Talamanca).
Favorite meal from course
Plantains with white rice and beans.
Favorite activity from your course
Going swimming by far! The water was so warm, and the sand was black. I felt really fortunate that I could do it every day we were at Gandoca-Manzanillo National Wildlife Reserve.
Biggest surprise during your course
I didn’t think that doing a whole bunch of little projects for a community would make a large impact, but it does. And the projects were really fun to do!
Most valuable lesson learned on course
You must try new food or you will be a very unhappy person. 
Most inspiring moment from course
There were a couple of girls in my group who had never been in the ocean before because they live in the middle states, so on our trip they went into salt water for their first time, and they absolutely loved it.
Describe Outw
ard Bound Costa Rica in one word
Experience
How has your experience with Outward Bound Costa Rica had an impact on your future?
People ask me quite a lot if I have actually been through Outward Bound, and I always tell them that it was such a fun experience, and I didn’t want it to end. Also, I have been working on one of the projects that my group produced in El Yue to help with my Girl Scout Gold Award.
What advice do you have for future participants of this course?
If you go on an Outward Bound course, you will have to have an open mind. You will have to try new things. Participate as much as you can. Have an amazing time!
Want to have your own Costa Rican adventure just like Mia? Applications are now open for our 2015 Girl Scout Destinations. If you’re not a Girl Scout, join us for a service-based course on our Summer Expeditions.