Every summer, Outward Bound Costa Rica welcomes several new staff members to assist during our high season on and off course. We are thrilled to have such a talented group of young interns joining the team  in the field as Instructor Interns! ¡Bienvenidos a todos!

FIELD INSTRUCTOR INTERNS

Alumni of our Outdoor Leader Semester (OLS) who best exemplify what it takes to become an Outward Bound educator are offered an internship as a field instructor for our high season. These interns will work side-by-side with our full-time instructors to apply the skills and certifications they acquired from OLS to help lead our Summer Expeditions and Girl Scout Destinations across Costa Rica and Panama.

Gretchen Konitzky
Hometown: New Harbor, Maine
HIOBS 2016 Alum

Gretchen is thrilled to be back to Costa Rica because she loves the water, the culture and the beauty of Central America. This summer will be her first experience as an instructor and she is really excited about this new position.

“Being here as a student helped me tremendously. I learnt so many new things and so many new skills. I feel like there are so many great people here that have so much knowledge to teach me and have me improve. Back in Maine I go to a School for Outdoor Recreation so my teachers really stuck for me to be working here for Outward Bound Costa Rica.”

Gretchen is also looking forward to get her Advanced Scuba Certification in Panama and to spend more time kayaking in the river!

Connor Hawkins
Hometown: Concord, New Hampshire
2016 Spring Leadership Semester

Connor can’t wait to work with the Caribbean Scuba and Service course in Panama. After five weeks in Open Enrollment as a student, he felt that he wanted to come back to get a longer experience so he decided to come back for the 2016 Spring Leadership Semester.

“I learnt a lot more than just technical skills. I learnt a lot about people skills,” he said. “I really want to leave an impact. I want to leave a mark and make a difference in somebody’s life I guess – even if it’s only one person.”

Evan Parker
Hometown: Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
2015 Fall Outdoor Leader Semester

Evan appreciated the opportunity he had to learn from the instructors during OLS in developing his own personal growth and now wants to help kids challenging themselves.

“I wanted to do it in the first place to help kids because when I came here, Outward Bound Costa Rica helped me. Doing this will help me to help them. To show kids that there is more than just sitting around and that there is so much more out there.”

During his time here, Evan also wants to improve his Spanish and learn more about the outdoor industry.

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Check out this video about three Outdoor Leader Semester alumni who reflect on their course experience and how it led to an instructor role in the field: