Category: Featured

Yucatán, México: Meet Your Project Director! Hola a todos! My name is Matteo Travers and I am the Project Director for the Yucatán, México. This will be my third summer working with AMIGOS! Last summer, I was the Project Director for Barranquilla, Colombia and the previous summer I served as a Project Supervisor in Azuero, Panamá. … Read More

Pérez Zeledón, Costa Rica: Meet your PD, BELLA! Saludos! My name is Bella Tanaka (pronouns: she/her/hers) and I am the Project Director of the Pérez Zeledón, Costa Rica project. I grew up in a suburb north of Chicago, but I currently reside in Boston where I study Marine Science and Spanish and Boston University. I … Read More

Meet your Project Director! Chontales, Nicaragua Hi everyone! I’m Cara, the AMIGOS Project Director of the Chontales, Nicaragua project this summer. I recently returned from my survey of the project area and I’m excited to report that we have an awesome project in the making! I was blown away by the gorgeous landscapes looking out … Read More

Alumni Spotlight: Steve Schafer, Author We caught up with AMIGOS alum Steve Schafer (Paraguay 1990) to ask him some questions! Steve is the author of The Border, a story about four Mexican teens who flee to the US through the scorching Sonoran desert after getting caught in the cross fire of the narco-violence along the … Read More

Palmares, Costa Rica: Meet Your Project Director! Hi everyone! My name is Derek Schadel and I’m from Findlay, Ohio. I’m passionate about culture, social and economic inclusion, education, and Colombian tinto (coffee)! I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology and Spanish from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. I also have a graduate specialization diploma in Social Evaluation of Projects from Universidad de Los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia. During … Read More

What you need to know before you go abroad Are you or your child considering a summer or gap program in another country? Here are some questions to ask providers (and our answers!) to help you find the right program.   How long have you been running programs? More than 53 years! AMIGOS was founded … Read More

My life is divided into two phases: before AMIGOS and after AMIGOS. When I signed up for the program, I had no idea how dramatically it would impact the course of my life. My sister had participated, my mom was encouraging me to volunteer, and I figured that it would look pretty good on my … Read More

Behind the Scenes: World Marathon Challenge AMIGOS alumni are not ones to shy away from a challenge. Getting out of your comfort zone and traveling to a new country are two essential parts of the AMIGOS experience. Alum Dorn Wenninger took that to heart: from January 30 through February 5, 2018, he completed 7 marathons … Read More

TOUCHING THE SKY By Alyssa Kurke   Alyssa is one of nine students from American University’s Community-Based Research Scholars program who traveled to Cuenca, Ecuador this January. The trip, led by AMIGOS and American University staff, focused on multicultural collaboration, service learning, and models of asset-based community development. Students visited AMIGOS partner organizations, participated in … Read More

Snapshot: Youth Ambassadors The Youth Ambassadors Program, funded by the State Department’s Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs, offers community service-minded students the opportunity to travel abroad, stay with a host family, and begin training on a community project they design and implement . After the international exchange, students return home where they implement a … Read More