For the first time since before the pandemic, the South Seneca Yorkers Club was able to spread its wings and fly out of Ovid last month during spring break.
The club, led this year for the first time by staff Rachel Hallock and Edie Fulton, traveled to Costa Rica. The high school students on the trip were: Sam Barkee, Sylvia Brock, Avery Cupp, AJ Denmark, Joza Drexler, Hannah Drexler, Sam Dufour, Marigold McCabe-Angell, Chelsea Neville, Kara Siurano, Ava Utter, Leah vonHahmann, Sophie Wesselhoff.
Hallock said it was an incredible trip, where the students got to experience things they never have before, including ziplining, white-water rafting, hiking at the volcano, and kayaking. Other trip highlights included:
White Water Rafting on the Sarapiqui river
Volunteering at Natuwa, a wildlife rescue center
Kayaked Lake Arenal at the base of the volcano
Hiked the 1968 lava trail at Arenal
“Students got to learn outside of their comfort zone,” Hallock added, “ by doing things that scared them — ziplining especially! Students also got to learn a lot about the government and policies in Costa Rica, which has no army and generates 100% of its energy sustainably.”
Jennifer Cupp, a parent of a student on the trip, was extremely excited about what her daughter Avery was able to experience.
“Our school is small and has an incredible travel club,” she said. “Karen Sanchez did this club for years and now Edie Fulton and Rachel Hallock have taken it over, and these kids get to go to places that really can be eye opening experiences for kids who grow up in a small town.”
“It is so important for kids to travel,” Cupp said, “ It really is a rarity for a school this small to have such a great opportunity for travel for these kids.”
In terms of the club’s dynamics, any high school student “in good standing” is eligible to travel. Students can join the club to start fundraising in middle school with their parent permission. Students can fundraise over a few years before they travel to help pay for their trip. This year, the club did various fundraisers throughout the year, with some being parent-sponsored, and some being school-sponsored. Some students raised well over $1,000 this year, Hallock noted.