Gap Southeast Asia Spring 2024

Hello! 

My name is Becca and I am so excited to be leading Southeast Asia Gap this Spring! I grew up outside of Chicago before taking my own 2 gap semesters with ARCC (East Africa Fall 2017 and Patagonia/Cuba Spring 2018). I attended Tufts University where I studied anthropology, an incredibly fun and stimulating major that I am excited to continue thinking with throughout this upcoming semester. After graduating, I spent a year working in the wilderness department at an international boarding school for high school students in Northern New Mexico. There, I worked with students from over 90 different countries to design and carry out week-long experiential education trips in the Southwest, in addition to intermittent weekend trips. Additionally, I’ve spent several summers working as a summer camp counselor in Maine, and have led backpacking trips on the East Coast for incoming first year college students. I love riddles and card games and crossword puzzles and bananagrams!  

The past two seasons I have worked with ARCC instructing their Vietnam and Cambodia summer program and the Southeast Asia Fall gap semester, and I can’t wait to go back for another season in an incredible region of the world! I am extremely passionate about experiential education and the ways that it can make learning feel personal and tangible. I have spent time in Southeast Asia as both a student and an instructor and I am super excited to return this spring with all of you. I am looking forward to an amazing semester full of so much fun and learning!

Hi everyone!

My name is Hadley and I am beyond excited to explore Southeast Asia and to learn about the cultures of the places we get to visit in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand with you! I grew up in Natick, Massachusetts as a die-hard Boston sports fan and lover of New England Fall before heading to Hobart and William Smith Colleges in upstate New York. I graduated college with a degree in Psychology and Public Policy. I also participated in a teaching program in the local school district, ran on my school’s cross-country team, and loved every second of my study abroad program in Perth, Australia. I have spent every summer, all summer, of my life in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. This is where I found my love for the natural world, developed a passion for outdoor activities and found my enthusiasm for environmental education and trip leading.

In the past few years, I have lived in a beautiful mountain town in Colorado teaching at the Colorado Outdoor Education Center and Keystone Science School, coaching high school track, cross country ski instructing, and trip leading! I started leading trips for ARCC in Summer 2022. I first led an ARCC custom program, where I backpacked in Yosemite National Park, explored Sequoia National Park, and rafted down the Kern River. I then led two two-week programs in Costa Rica where I was amazed at the beautiful landscapes, the kindness of our host families, and the ability of my ARCC students to embrace new experiences. In Fall 2023, I led the ARCC Central America Gap Semester and had a blast learning how to SCUBA dive and surf and practicing my Spanish-speaking skills. This Spring, I am most looking forward to learning alongside Becca and our students, developing deeper understandings about different cultures and creating meaningful connections with the people I meet along the way.

When not teaching and trip leading, I can be found by the water with a good book, trail running, traveling, hiking, playing cards, mountain biking, skiing, rock climbing, or being silly with friends! See if you can guess my two truths and a lie: One time there was a tarantula on my bed, I once chased a bear out of my house, and I once found a venomous snake in my shower. I can’t wait to hear your responses!

See you all soon!