San Juan teen heads to Costa Rica for summer fellowship

Jack Morris, a San Juan resident and a senior at Bellarmine College Preparatory, has more than the average summer vacation planned. Morris, who just completed his junior year at the San Jose private school, will spend two weeks on a service-learning program in Costa Rica.
Morris first heard about the opportunity at school when representatives from Walking Tree Travel spoke about some of the summer programs they offer. The organization provides what they call service adventures in six countries for students, as well as culture quests and conservation expeditions.
When Morris heard some of his fellow students talk about their previous experiences, he said he thought it seemed like an interesting approach to service immersion.
“Costa Rica really jumped out at me,” he said. “Ever since I was in fourth grade I’ve had it on my list of places I would like to go.”
Morris received a journalism fellowship to cover part of his tuition cost for the two-week trip that includes 40 service hours for the students.
“While I’m there I will be casually journaling and documenting my experiences,” he said.
When he returns he will compose an article that he will try to get published in a local newspaper and he will share his experiences with other students.
“I always enjoyed writing and reading,” he said, “And English as a general subject. This opportunity to document my experience in this way and receive financial aid as a way of doing it seemed like a pretty good deal to me.”
While Morris considered the trips to Senegal and Guatemala, he said he decided to stick with Costa Rica.
“The reason I’ve always been interested in it is because of the nature,” he said. “It has lush rain forests there and with the proximity to the equator it always seemed so exotic. I am looking forward to the service aspect of it just because I think it is important to be aware of other cultures and help those in need.”
Morris said he there is one other student from Bellarmine who will be attending the program with him. But he doesn’t know the other students who come from all over the country, including some from New York, Arizona or southern California.
“I definitely have hopes that a lot of the people who are going are similarly motivated as I am, with the same goals and such,” he said.
The two-week session in Costa Rica includes 40 hours of service with the tuition set at $3,890. The students visit five cities and will take a white water rafting trip. But one of the key components of the trip is a visit to a village that includes a homestay with a Costa Rican family. During the villages stays, the students work on community projects as part of their service immersion portion of the trip.