Blog

It's time to meet your Instructors for the Spring 2022 Mini Semester Programs!   Hawaii Mini Semester Program | Instructors: Liz & Natalie Hailing from the great state of Colorado, Liz is stoked to be instructing for Pacific Discovery again. Her early years consisted of playing in the dirt on the softball field, taking her playing to Lehigh University and then in Germany. Playing professionally was a great joy and exploring new places continued calling. That bug took he… Read more

A celebration is in order!We are excited to share that Pacific Discovery got recognized as the Top Rated Gap Year Provider of 2021 by GoAbroad! Students across the country were asked about their gap year experience, and our amazing alumni rated us as #1! This recognition is the result of a fantastic team effort, so we are incredibly proud of our team for their hard work, passion and dedication. We remain grateful for the opportunity to develop and facilitate experientia… Read more

It's time to meet your Instructors for the Spring 2022 Semester Programs... An introduction of the Mini Semester Instructors will soon follow!   Hawaii Semester Program | Instructors: Kim & John Kim was born in Boston and raised outside the city before returning for college at Northeastern University. “Curious” has always been used to describe Kim, whether it related to her desire to try every sport and musical instrument growing up or her wide range of internships du… Read more

This is the final update from the Hawaii & Western US Program. Captain Jackson reporting. Whether or not this has been previously mentioned is unclear, but our team has a rotating captain (leadership) role that rotates every five days. Each rotation, the chosen captain takes charge of the fourteen of us. Your update this final week is brought to you by none other than this week's captain, Captain Jack. Here is this scallywag-crew’s final log. I began my leadership as we… Read more

Did you know that our instructors keep the parents up-to-date on what's been happening each week on program? These weekly emails are undoubtedly something to look forward for the home front. To give you a better idea on what these look like, here's the final update from the incredible instructors Jack and Tari on the Central America Program.   Hey families! Our last week on the Central America semester with this crazy, fun, smart, thoughtful, and hilarious group of st… Read more

I was sitting in my room in Ao Nang, catching up on some reading on one of our free days, when suddenly, McKenna and Cabell came crashing in, saying, “Zac Efron is in Thailand!!” I was shocked. “He was spotted in Phuket!” they continued. We soon hatched a plan to find him. Our hunt for Zac in Thailand had begun. Our first stop was the hot springs in Ao Nang. These springs are naturally heated, similar to the ones in Japan. When we arrived, there were two different types… Read more

As the Hawaii Program is nearing its end this Fall, students are looking back and reflecting on their last 10 weeks of traveling around, volunteering and team bonding. Read all about Lauren Castleman's discoveries and realizations about herself and her time on program in this week's blog!   During these past nine weeks in Hawaii, I’ve been able to explore the Pacific. Traipsing around the islands of Oahu and Hawaii, I gained a deeper understanding of Hawaiian culture a… Read more

When we visited Khao Sok, a rainforest national park in southern Thailand, I was struck by the variation of color in the tall cliffs next to where we were staying. As I began to describe them, I found myself overwhelmed by the vibrancy of life surrounding me. All I could manage then was pages and pages of words, which I only managed to organize into a poem a week later, after a full free day spent working on it. I truly believe this may be one of my best works, and I hop… Read more

Antigua is known for its remarkable volcanic landscapes nearby, so our Central America Program students embark on a multi-day hike in search of volcanoes and high-altitude lakes. Climbing Volcan Acatenango is on the bucket list of most travelers, and our students certainly understand why after this adventure! Read all about this adventure from a student's point of view.   When our hike began, the group was already a bit overwhelmed. We were fraught with emotional turmo… Read more

Taking a gap year during college is becoming more and more mainstream, and is proving to be especially popular and useful for pre-med students. A staggering 44% of medical students chose to take a gap year or two in 2019, according to a survey from the Association of American Medical Colleges. While some reported using this year away from the classroom to work on their medical school applications, others used it to improve their finances, recharge or volunteer abroad, fo… Read more