
Global Leadership Adventures
Why choose Global Leadership Adventures?
Global Leadership Adventures (GLA) offers life-changing international volunteer and internship programs for high school students in countries worldwide. Programs focus on service learning, cultural exploration, and honing leadership skills. Program themes include protecting wildlife and the environment, healthcare, supporting education initiatives, and political-economic issues. On the weekends, p...
Global Leadership Adventures (GLA) offers life-changing international volunteer and internship programs for high school students in countries worldwide. Programs focus on service learning, cultural exploration, and honing leadership skills. Program themes include protecting wildlife and the environment, healthcare, supporting education initiatives, and political-economic issues. On the weekends, participating students engage in exciting excursions to places of cultural or historical significance to expand their experience and understanding of their host country. GLA is a leader in international high school travel programs. We have sent tens of thousands of students abroad in our 20 years of operation, and have been featured in the New York Times, Boston Globe, and other major media outl...
Global Leadership Adventures Reviews
Hear what past participants have to say about the programs
Overall Rating
Total Reviews
life changing.
February 02, 2026by: Daniella Knapp - United StatesThis program is a great opportunity to earn volunteer hours. Not only does it look great on a college application or a resume, but its fun and means a lot to the people you help! Volunteering as a group is so much fun! When I was in Costa Rica, I volunteered in a turtle hatchery. My group and I built turtles nests,, picked up trash along the beach, and helped build an erosion control barrier. Global Leadership Adventures gave me the opportunity to push myself to do what was scary at the time by doing super fun adventures! The adventures that I got to participate in were ziplining, snorkeling, and visiting a farm. Previous to this trip, I had ziplined but the ziplines that I went on in Costa Rica were so high and more of an adventure as we ziplined upside down. The farm was a unique experience as we got to milk a goat and taste raw goat milk. Overall, I gained something out of each excursion I went on in Costa Rica from facts to lessons and even learning more about myself.
Highly Recomend!
February 02, 2026by: Daniella Knapp - United StatesThis summer I went to Costa Rica with GLA teens, and I had an amazing time that I will always cherish. I learned so much getting to work in a turtle hatchery, and I even got to release baby turtles. I also got to learn about the community and culture of the area, partaking in special activities very unique to this program. Overall, I could not recommend this program enough, the experience I had was truly once in a lifetime.
Learned so much and met lots of amazing people
December 13, 2025by: Daniella Knapp - United StatesLiving for ten days in the Guanacaste region of Costa Rica was truly eye opening. Experiencing the culture and helping out with the sea turtles nests along with talking with local community members and organizations created a whole new appreciation for different cultures and travel.
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Media Gallery
Interviews
Read interviews from alumni or staff

Kate Galvin
Participated in 2016
Kate is currently a sophomore in high school who is always eager to travel. She is a year-round competitive swimmer and enjoys all types of watersport...

Kate Galvin
Participated in 2016
I was inspired to go abroad after I realized how much I enjoyed traveling the world with my family. We had been to Asia and Europe together, so I had the travel experience and confidence in my abilities to be independent. Geography and travel itself have always been areas of study that I particularly enjoy, and I wanted to expand my knowledge of the world.

Lindsay Goddard
Participated in 2016
Lindsay is a junior at Homestead High School in Sunnyvale, California and she works in childcare at Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church on the weekends. In ...

Lindsay Goddard
Participated in 2016
Travel has been a big part of my life since I was young, and volunteering is a passion of mine, so when my best friend showed me her GLA catalog, I knew I had to try it out.

Cameron Wehr
Participated in 2016
Cameron is a high school student from California. He has been on many trips to Europe with youth symphonies. He recently went to India on a service tr...

Cameron Wehr
Participated in 2016
I have always had a bit of wanderlust. I love to travel, and I have always wanted to go to somewhere in Asia, so when the opportunity to go to India presented itself, I jumped on it.
Ready to Learn More?
Global Leadership Adventures (GLA) offers life-changing international volunteer and internship programs for high school students in countries worldwide. Programs focus on service learning, cultural exploration, and honing leadership skills. Program themes include protecting wildlife and the environment, healthcare, supporting education initiatives, and political-economic issues. On the weekends, participating students engage in exciting excursions to places of cultural or historical significance to expand their experience and understanding of their host country. GLA is a leader in international high school travel programs. We have sent tens of thousands of students abroad in our 20 years of operation, and have been featured in the New York Times, Boston Globe, and other major media outl...

Global Leadership Adventures

Global Leadership Adventures
Ready to Learn More?
Global Leadership Adventures (GLA) offers life-changing international volunteer and internship programs for high school students in countries worldwide. Programs focus on service learning, cultural exploration, and honing leadership skills. Program themes include protecting wildlife and the environment, healthcare, supporting education initiatives, and political-economic issues. On the weekends, participating students engage in exciting excursions to places of cultural or historical significance to expand their experience and understanding of their host country. GLA is a leader in international high school travel programs. We have sent tens of thousands of students abroad in our 20 years of operation, and have been featured in the New York Times, Boston Globe, and other major media outl...
Awards
Check out awards and recognitions Global Leadership Adventures has received









