This year over spring break the John Carroll School will be sending students on a mission trip to Costa Rica. This trip is being run by World Languages Department Chairman Cathy Edge. It will take place from April 12 to April 21 of 2025 with a cost of about $3,413 per student.
Students will spend 10 days there. For the first five days, students will be doing service work such as building things and playing with children. The other five days will be spent relaxing and exploring the new country.
Students do not have to be taking a Spanish class to go. The group will have a bilingual tour guide the entire time they are there.
As of right now there are seven students signed up to go. Ms. Edge is hoping that she can get 15 to 20 students to attend. The more students who sign up, the more chaperones who can go. For every six students there is one chaperone.
Ms. Edge chose Costa Rica for the trip because she has been there before, and she thinks it is “one of the most beautiful places in the world.”
Ms. Edge believes that the Costa Rican people speak easily comprehendible Spanish which is good for students.
She also selected this place because she feels that Costa Ricans are very humble and proud people. She said that Costa Rica is the perfect place to go because “both the people and the country are beautiful.”
She hopes that this trip will help students to grow as human beings. “I hope this trip allows students to look at their country differently and see the privileges they experience.”
She added that “the trip allows us to see the humanity in all of us, that even though we live differently, we live equally valued lives.”
She also hopes that this trip will allow students to get the chance to experience life without their parents before college and that students will take risks and want to explore more countries. She is most looking forward to bonding with the students who are going and learning more about them.
Senior Mia Romano said, “I decided to sign up because I want to explore as much of the world as I can, so why not start early?”
Mia also said she was looking forward to the trip because she will get to spend some time with her friends before she graduates.
Senior Natalie Gotzmann is also going on the trip; she said she is most looking forward to giving back to the community and exploring the land. She said, “I can’t wait to help others, while also adventuring in a new place.”