The Young Leader

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Triumph of Vision – GLA Alum Raises $7,500 for Water Filter Project through Her School

“You can solve the water quality problem, but if you can’t solve the water access problem, then what does it mean for those people?”

–Liv Evans

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Name: Liv Evans
Hometown: Downington, PA
Education: Tulane University
Passions and Interests: Reading, writing, club softball and intramural soccer. Philadelphia sports fan (as she says, “despite their luck”)
Transformational Experience: Guatemala: Children of the Maya™ and Dominican Republic: Building a Sustainable World™
Making an Impact: Raised $7,500 through the help of her high school student council for a water filter project and provided 169 filters to Dominican families

When Liv Evans was elected to serve as co-president of her student council back in high school, she didn’t take the ordinary course most people think of when it comes to student council initiatives. Through committed efforts at building awareness through her school’s homecoming and powderpuff football events, which were attended by over half the student population, and by petitioning her student council to act, she was able to raise nearly $7,500 for a project close to her heart: providing water filters to families in-need in the Dominican Republic.

After attending Global Leadership Adventures’ Building a Sustainable World™ program in the Dominican Republic, Liv has been driven to provide access to clean water to those without.

After my DR program, I started seeing the relevance of human security issues to all of my school subjects, and I found myself looking at the world through this new lens. Because of GLA, I have a burning passion for public health and development.”

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Liv began her journey before the Dominican Republic by attending GLA’s Children of the Maya™ program in Guatemala back in 2013. At the time, she didn’t know what her real motivation was to attend the program beyond the desire to gain a broader perspective of the world. As she recalls though, it was GLA staff member Jesse Barber on her Guatemala program that said to her something that inspired her to continue traveling and doing service work beyond one program:

It’s amazing, really. When you’re at home all the people you know put you into this little box. They expect you to be and act a certain way. When you travel by yourself, though, you can break out of that box. You can choose the things you want to keep about yourself and the things you want to change to become the person you want to be. If you’re lucky, you get to take some of that new person home with you.”

This prompted Liv to return with Global Leadership Adventures the following summer, where she had the opportunity to spend weeks learning about the seven elements of human security, as taught by 7 Elements founder and GLA local director, Dr. Dave Addison. She says “7 Elements really practices what it preaches,” and from everything Liv’s accomplished, she’s done the same.

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Following her first of several trips to the Dominican Republic, Liv raised the funds to provide 169 families with new water filters. She used a needs analysis to determine what could be done, and attributes “the strength of the intervention” through water filter distribution to what she says is the families’ willingness to help themselves.

And giving back to those in need of support has given back Liv much in return, even if that wasn’t her goal or expectation. She received a scholarship providing full college tuition from Tulane University, where she now attends, based on a video project about her experience with GLA in the Dominican Republic. She hopes to work in the field of global health with a special focus on water quality, clean water access, and/or infectious disease control.

On her reason for continuing to pursue widespread, effective change, Liv demonstrates that setting out to try is the most important part:

I seek to understand an unexplainable world and take on problems that are perhaps unsolvable, but I would lose my sense of humanity if I didn’t try. It is to be passionate, to stand for something greater than yourself, to gain undying empathy for humankind, that you have truly lived.”

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Liv is currently attending Tulane University in New Orleans, LA, where she is involved in its Public Health Society and ONE, a foreign aid advocacy group.

Programs Liv attended:

GLA Guatemala: Children of the Maya™ & Dominican Republic: Building a Sustainable World™

Curious about exploring your own GLA adventure? Check these out:

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Make (More of) an Impact: GLA Multi-Programs

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Just as our 21-day GLA Flagship programs offer the most in-depth immersion within a single community, our multi-programs provide an incredible breadth of experiences across multiple communities around the world.

By linking programs together, you can extend your volunteer abroad experience this summer beyond the three-week maximum provided by any single one of our programs. Or you can combine two shorter programs together to customize an experience that fits your unique interests and very busy summer schedule!

For example, if you’re moved by GLA’s mission and think the African continent is the place to make your impact, you can extend your stay in Africa with Global Leadership Adventures beyond 21 days. And even then, your options are flexible. Option #1, for those inspired by working with Children, is participating in our Ghana: Children of Africa™ Flagship program in Anlgoa first, and then capping it off with another two weeks in Ghana at our other Children of Africa™ site at Krobo. Or Option #2, if you’re more interested in making Ghana your home away from home, and want to mix up your service options, allows you to combine that Children flagship program with another two weeks during sports-based service at Ghana: Sports Service Adventure.  Finally, Option #3 expands your horizons beyond just Ghana, as you can link one of our Ghana programs with Maasai warriors and Mount Kilimanjaro on our Tanzania: Heart & Soul of Africa program.

So many options! And the best part? All tuition prices for Multi-Programs reflect a 10% discount from regular program tuition costs.

Each of these linked programs range from four to six weeks, and they represent the peak of the Global Leadership Adventures experience. As highlighted in the Africa examples alone above, these programs give students the opportunity to experience two different countries, or two unique communities within the same country. Our staff members on each program engage students in discussion to link common themes woven throughout the linked program. Through these juxtapositions, students can contextualize the issues facing each community – both common and unique – in ways that build upon the depth of experience on each program.

If you’re interested in exploring our multi-program offerings, check out our listings here. Or, you can always speak to an enrollment advisor and attend two GLA trips at separate times throughout the summer, if that works best for your schedule.

 

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GLA & The President’s Volunteer Service Award

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Global Leadership Adventures has partnered with the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation for years to deliver the President’s Volunteer Service Award to dedicated student volunteers.

The award is issued by the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation. This council was originally convened by President George W. Bush, and has continued under the administration of President Barack Obama. It is designed to help foster and encourage a culture of volunteer service and civic participation among Americans.

As a Certifying Organization for the award, Global Leadership Adventures takes on the responsibility for verifying service hours, nominating potential recipients and delivering the award.

Each of our programs offers a set number of service hours that you can apply towards the PVSA. Check out each of our destinations to see how many service hours you’ll obtain.

As the organization explains, “Presidential recognition sets you apart from your peers. It is a tremendous honor. Even though you may not seek recognition, your example can deliver a powerful message that encourages others to take action.”

The PVSA recognizes U.S. citizens and lawfully admitted, permanent residents of the United States who have achieved the mandatory number of hours of service over a one-year period, or as the result of lifetime cumulative hours.

There are bronze, silver, and gold levels of the award, based on the number of hours earned. For those student volunteers who contribute more than 4,000 hours of service in their lifetime, the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award may be given. This is the highest honor provided by the PVSA.

If you’re interested in learning more, check out the award criteria here. You can also visit Global Leadership Adventures for more information on our Certifying Organization status.

 

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