The Young Leader

  • GLA Program Blogs
  • Gamechangers
  • Newsletters
  • About The Young Leader

June 15, 2015 by The Young Leader

The 8 Best Places To Take an Outdoor Nap This Summer

TYL-VIVA

Have you ever felt an urge to take a summer nap outside, yet there doesn’t seem to be a place as comfortable nor as scenic to your liking? Try any or all of these simple suggestions and you’ll have the desired lazy summer we know you’ve been craving.

1. Buy a Hammock

Who doesn’t love to lounge in a hammock? You can tie one up almost anywhere for the perfect mid-evening nap. Most people find the slow, calming rocking motion of a hammock to resemble a parent rocking their child in their arms until they fall into a deep reassuring sleep. Inspired by this notion, a few Swiss scientists decided to examine the idea of rocking a person to sleep. Sophie Schwartz, a neuroscientist at the Sleep and Cognition Neuroimaging Lab at the University of Geneva in Switzerland, observed a faster transition to sleep with the simple swinging of a hammock. Not only does rocking motion make us fall asleep more quickly, but she found it also makes people sleep more deeply throughout the nap.

 2. Lawn Chair By The Pool

A solid lawn chair at your local pool can help you enjoy those comforting quiet evenings, as well as the raucous afternoons filled with splashes and laughter of your friends and family. It’s the perfect way to relax in comfort and style.

3. Place a Towel on the beach

A towel on the beach may not seem like much, yet the feel of the warm, malleable sand through the cloth of your towel will send you dozing off.

4. Take Your Bean Bag Chair Out on The Lawn

Bean Bag Chairs provide a unique nap experience. While they may not rock back and forth, they’re more maneuverable than traditional lawn chair or public bench.

Because of their adjustable shape, bean bag chairs are great for dragging out into the sun for a long nap.

5. Floating Lounge Chair

Rather than sleeping in a lawn chair neighboring the pool, why not actually rest while floating ontop? The Floating Lounge Chair is perfect for any poolside relaxation and perhaps a bit of sunbathing. Producing a similar rocking rhythm the hammock provides, the lounge chair will buoy yourself to a comfortable, tanning sleep.

6. A Few Rocks By The River

While perhaps not as snug as the locales listed above, river rock crevices are remarkably comfortable. Warmed by the sun, river rocks provide a sauna like feel to your slumber. The continual, rushing movement of the river is soothing to listen to as you gently close your eyes.

 7. Porch Swing

If you don’t own a porch swing, nor have a friend with a porch swing, I would highly recommend investing in one. Easy to assemble and surprisingly convenient, the porch swing offers a lovely see-saw motion, as well as protection from the sun. Similar to the hammock, the porch swing resembles something of a soft, swinging couch.

8. Google Naps

If you’re unable to find any of the above, try go wrong with Google Naps! Google Naps is a crowd-sourced map project that will point you to the best places in your city to take a nap, as submitted by other locals. The World is your living room.


Contributed by Sophie Emigh

 

Filed Under: Latest Posts, VIVA

June 15, 2015 by The Young Leader

5 Ways to Get a Head Start on a Career in Education

TYL-Blog-Post-008

You don’t just want a career; you want to educate and inspire others to learn. This is often a daunting thought, but don’t let all the information about education careers overwhelm you. Here are five ways that will motivate you to get a head start in your future in education!

1) Learn about your passion. You can’t become a doctor and know nothing about medicine. It’s the same for a career in education, so study up on your dream profession! Research what you’re interested in; learn about what it takes to enter that job. Discover what your state’s requirements are to become a teacher. From lecturing on molecular biology to inspiring first-graders, there is a specialized path for you, so dive in and learn about what you love. And don’t forget to keep working hard in your current studies, too!

2) Become a tutor. Tutoring is a fantastic way to gain some teaching experience. If you’re interested in tutoring, check to see if your school can help get you started. Eventually, you could even branch out into your own small tutoring business. You’ll be helping others, and getting some great on-the-job experience.

3) Audit or watch a class. Many teachers/professors will be excited that you are interested in education as a career, and several schools have ways for you to become a teacher’s aide and audit a class. You’ll get to experience different teaching methods, classroom procedures, and you may even get to assist the professor in grading and lecturing. Needless to say, this kind of experience will be promising for your future career.

4) Help with summer education programs. Volunteer at your library and read stories to children. Or become a camp sponsor at a fun summer camp! Try to find one that has educational programs you’re interested in, like an arts and music camp or a science camp. You will get to work with what you’re passionate about, and have some summer fun along the way.

5) Volunteer abroad. Traveling will immensely broaden your knowledge about education and teaching. Global Leadership Adventures has an awesome opportunity that will whisk you to Costa Rica. You’ll discover the wonderful Costa Rican culture and participate in several activities that involve education, from teaching to serving and learning how the children study at their schools. And you will leave with a deeper appreciation for education and first-hand experiences with educational activities.

A career in education may sound difficult to enter at first, but you can get a head-start in it. So stay passionate about your dream and let it motivate you to educate! What about you? What ways have you pursued to start your career journey? Tell us in the comments below!


Contributed by Addie Davis

Filed Under: Bright Futures, Latest Posts

June 9, 2015 by The Young Leader

10 Items You Never Want to Forget Before You Travel

“I forgot my______!” A phrase I’m sure we’ve all caught ourselves yelling out after hours and hours of travel. Nothing is more valuable than your time and comfort, especially when on the move. So, to save you some valuable time and comfort during travel; here’s a list of ten items you never want to forget before traveling.

  1. Portable USB battery – It’s easy to get caught up in the sights and culture of the areas you’re traveling to and forget to charge your electronics. A USB battery is perfect for travel as it adapts to almost any charger base and can fit easily into a front pocket or backpack.
  2. Destination List – Listing your destinations and their distances can help you efficiently group your excursions, saving you both time and money as traveling any distance can run up the toll on your time abroad.
  3. Carry-on clothing – You never know when the airlines are going to make that monumental mistake and loose your luggage. Plan ahead and pack a few outfits in your carry-on.
  4. Exercise clothing – Be sure to bring your exercise clothing if you plan on getting some reps in at the hotel gym or getting a few miles under your belt before hitting your destinations.
  5. Toiletry bag – Having a toiletry bag not only keeps all your toiletries in the same place, but also keeps them from getting all over your other luggage. Just don’t forget to watch out for the limits on those liquids when carrying them on board.
  6. Power Converter – Most of us don’t consider living standards in other countries, even when traveling to them. You’re going to need a power converter almost anywhere outside of the United States.
  7. A Book – It never hurts to pack some light reading material to pass the time on your flights. Stuff happens, especially to our technology. It always helps to have a non-electronic form of entertainment to rely on when your tech dies and you’re stranded.
  8. Phone – Most people are so used to having their phone on them that they automatically assume they have it. Always double check for your phone before leaving for the airport. Who knows when you’ll realize it’s missing?
  9. Headphones – everyone loves music, but you can’t exactly blast you phone speakers for clear, high definition music at the airport. Never forget your headphones, unless you enjoy background noise at the airport.
  10. Glasses (both) – If there’s one thing you don’t want to forget when traveling, it’s your ability to take in the beautiful sights of the amazing countries you are visiting. Even if vision correction isn’t necessary for you, don’t forget those sunglasses.

Contributed by Joshua Schwartz

Filed Under: Latest Posts, Wanderlust

June 8, 2015 by The Young Leader

Teachers Making a Difference – 5 You Won’t Forget

As you make your way through school, you’ll learn from several teachers in the process. However, some of them will leave lasting impressions in your mind that will stick for years to come.

These 5 teachers have received recognition in the news for their positive impacts:

David Menasche: After receiving the traumatic news that he had developed untreatable brain cancer, this English teacher didn’t let his disappointing diagnosis get the best of him. When he was too weak to continue teaching, the brave educator from Florida set off on a journey to 31 cities across the country to reunite with 75 of his former students. They described him as a beloved teacher who made a tremendous effort to be present in the lives of his students.

Cheryl Tolbert: As a dedicated middle school music teacher, Cheryl has been touching the lives of her students for 46 years. For the past 9 years of her career, she has been guiding some of the most troublesome students at Crawford Middle School in Kentucky. With her strict, disciplinary teaching style, Cheryl has taught these kids how to succeed and achieve their goals. Most importantly, she has shown her students that music can help you get through the tough times in life.

Anne White: This high school Spanish teacher from Wisconsin uses highly creative strategies to keep her students engaged and ensure that they never forget the language. She spices up her teaching routines by adding in a few fun and unique activities, ranging from Spanish lip-sync battles to Latino line dancing sessions. Anne also likes to send her students on special academic trips that enable them to study abroad and embrace the Spanish culture. Many of her former students still keep in touch via email and Facebook, and some even stop by to visit on occasion.

Derrick Griffith: This 42-year-old educator from New York managed to make a lasting impact on all of his students before he was killed in the recent Amtrak train accident in Philadelphia. He devoted much of his career to assisting underprivileged students in inner-city schools. With the help of a few colleagues, he founded the Teaching and Learning Institute at East High School in Rochester. He is remembered as an extremely caring teacher and dedicated mentor.

Jennifer Brown: This applied physical science teacher was named Alabama’s Teacher of the Year for 2015-16. After teaching her 10th grade students for 16 years, she realized the true impact that teachers have on shaping future generations. Jennifer helps her students excel by making them active participants in the classroom. She wants to inspire other teachers to follow this trend.


Contributed by Nedda Grady

Filed Under: Gamechangers, Latest Posts

June 5, 2015 by Brett Scuiletti

THAILAND – Cultural Kaleidoscope – June 11 – July 1, 2015

6/14/2015

*We are sorry for the delay, there have been wifi issues until today and the internet connection is slow.

Hello family and friends across the globe!

Wow! Only day 2 and already it feels like our group has been here for weeks. After some very long travel days, our lovely 13 ladies finally arrived! Shell shocked but smiling, exhausted but excited! This morning we enjoyed breakfast in our outdoor dining area. Built beside a winding river with mountains behind, it creates quite the impressive start to the day. After munching on mangos and other newer fruits like lychee and rambutan, we jumped right into orientation. Our amazing local Thai staff helped us learn some important cultural norms and Thai phrases.

For lunch we went to a delicious buffet with lots of opportunities to try Thai specialties, especially from the North. Ball, Mim, Wa and Nutt (our local staff), guided the students through the maze of new foods. I kept hearing different students say things like, “I don’t know what I just ate but it was amazing!” One of my personal new favorites and a specialty of the area is Khao Soi, a mix of soft and hard noodles with a coconut curry sauce, veggies and meat with raw onion, bean sprouts and lime to top it off! Delicious!

In the afternoon we had the chance to visit a couple truly incredible temples, including the biggest and most impressive one in Chiang Mai. Then we headed to the local fresh food market and met our cooking instructor, Mac. He described the foods we would be using to cook and let us smell, touch and taste them. We made our way to the open air kitchen to take a stab at cooking a few Thai dishes. At the beginning, we were ready and raring to go but after cooking and eating the first two courses (Tom Yum soup and Pad Thai), jet lag started to set in and we cooked the third and fourth to go.

An early night to get ready for another big day tomorrow!

– Andrea, International Program Director

IMG_4025 IMG_4033 IMG_4043 IMG_4044

 

6/13/2015

Today we woke up bright and early to do some group bonding experiences. This then led to a very deep and engaging group talk about cultures and how society and cultures can be extremely different in different parts of the world. Then we sat down to a delicious Thai lunch right at homebase. We then gathered all of our things for the day and headed out. First, we made a pit stop to exchange money and then headed to a lake. We all immediately jumped in the warm but refreshing water and swam for a few hours. At the end of the day, we all headed back to homebase and ate a delicious Thai meal for dinner.

– Lily Neal-Boyd

6/14/2015

I probably speak for all of us when I say that yesterday was one of the best days of my life. Getting to be so in touch with elephants, feeling so close to them, was beyond anything I’ve ever done before. It was a little bitter sweet though. To see these majestic creatures mistreated hurt all of us. But seeing them roll around happily in the river kind of made us all feel a little better. At night we went to the market. We all bought around 12 pants. Still worth it.

– Kaela Van Der Vaart

20150614_130850 20150614_132654 20150614_132945 20150614_133404 20150614_133514

 

6/15/2015

Thailand, as I have already learned over the past five days, is a country thriving with lush greenery scattered throughout every bit of city and country, making for a scenic view that is close to unforgettable. As a side effect of the incredible landscape, the air has a thick consistency and lacks any motion of breeze creating a sedentary and sticky feeling every time a door is opened. In particular, this morning a heavy fog was settled in the near horizon and therefore the beads of sweat began immediately as my foot took one step out the door. This heat was not the most encouraging as we began our first day of service work, however as it turned out, it made for an energizing storm this evening. All us girls were separated into two groups. One took a van to a women’s shelter to perform some tasks that sounded pretty grueling and the other half filled our paint brushes and headed to a small orphanage where we were asked to paint the entry gate. Overall, the day made for some more amazing memories!

– Shanga Rose Meono Juckas

6/16/2015

Today we had breakfast at 7:30. Our diet consists of mostly mangos, rice and heart-shaped watermelon. After some lesson planning for next week, we started our second day of service. We made a lot of progress in painting the fence at the orphanage and making it an even happier place. Over at the women’s shelter, they had a minor setback after the storm but were able to move forward and make more progress. It’s been an amazing week in Thailand and we are all excited for another two. Shout out to lily for being the best roomie ever!

– Morgan Schneider

6/17/2015

Today we woke up for an early breakfast at 7:00am before departing for the Akha Hilltribe. When we arrived, we were given a tour of the village and were informed of the culture by Niti. We were also given the opportunity to try authentic Akha food and buy Akha attire after our visit to the hilltribe. We headed straight to our service sites. At Nimit (the orphanage), we made progress in painting the entry gate, while at the women’s shelter, they are almost done filling in the ditch. Overall, it was another great day in Thailand. Also, happy anniversary to Allie and Morgan.

– Mackenzie Simon

20150615_162915 20150617_084317 20150617_090144 20150617_100734 20150617_115236 20150617_122223 20150617_140459 20150617_143506 20150617_143607 20150617_151541

6/19/2015

Today we got a quick look at the elementary school that we will be teaching 3rd, 4th, 5thand 6thgrade next week. When we arrived, all of the students were dancing and playing, so everyone is pretty ecstatic to start working with these kids. We then traveled to a museum about Chiang Mai and the Three Kings Monument. Then, we all packed into our vans and traveled to the service sites for our last day of service. Us girls at Wildflower shoveled away and worked through the exhaustion to complete our goals. We were rewarded with ice cream from 7/11 (which is a pretty big deal here) and the night off to recover from the exhaustion that every single person in the group felt.

– Allie Cantaffa

20150612_135024 20150612_141733 20150619_085526 20150619_104601

6/20/2015

Day 10 in Thailand was yet another unforgettable day. Waking up each morning greeted by a lush landscape of mountains and river just doesn’t seem to grow old. As always, the day started with a delicious breakfast, then the two groups piled into GLA vans 1 and 2 for their last visit to Nimit and Wildflower. Each group spent a few hours at the service site in the morning teaching English and spending time with the people that they had grown so close to over the week. After, all of the children from Nimit, the women and children from Wildflower and entire GLA group traveled to a cultural center for an irresistible lunch and got to learn about traditional Thai style of clothing. All of us were given a traditional Thai outfit to wear, although I can say they weren’t the most comfortable things to put on, seeing all of the adorable Thai kids dressed up was priceless. After dressing up we were offered a wide array of Thai snacks followed by a lunch, I don’t think the word “full” does any justice to describe how we were feeling after all the delicious food. Later on we had to say goodbye to the women and children, the goodbyes were hard as so many relationships were cultivated and so many memories were made. I can confidently say that all of us are so thankful to have spent so much time with these incredible women, children and their constant smiles this past week.

– Kayla O’Shea

20150620_094157 20150620_100042 20150620_100307 20150620_102343 20150620_123728 20150620_123742

 

6/21/2015

We woke up bright and early today and ate another great breakfast around 7:30am so we could head off to the ZIPLINE! While we cruised through the trees we were able to get a better view of Thailand. The scenery was spectacular and all the different obstacles was a huge bonus. While being up in the trees for 3 hours we were definitely satisfied. Afterwards we gathered up and did last minute changes to our lesson plans for this week and then headed to the Sunday night market. Overall, we had a great day!

– Cat Zagyva

20150621_095006 20150621_102617 20150621_110950

 

6/22/2015

Today was our first day of service at the school. We will spend the next 5 days teaching English to grades 3-6. We stopped by a high school where we played games, danced and interacted with other high schoolers. We came home to a delicious dinner, met with our mentor groups and went straight to bed after another exhaustingly wonderful day in Thailand.

– Morgan Schneider

20150622_080443 20150622_091017 20150622_110649 20150622_120732 20150622_121652 20150622_134907 20150622_135919 20150622_140325 20150622_145202 20150622_145230 20150622_154209

6/23/2015

Our second day of teaching came with a renewed sense of confidence and fluidity in the teaching for each group. I was pretty surprised at the high level of English some of the students have from previous lessons. After our second day of teaching, we headed to “Muay Thai,” this is a wrestling class. We we arrived, we were met in an old garage set up with a wrestling ring, a line of punching bags and a small man in very unculturally-acceptable shorts which (I think) shocked us all. However, we warmed up to the idea of the booty shorts and began the strenuous workout this little man was shouting at us. After repetitious rounds of burbies, squat jumps, push-ups and more, we were instructed to put on the giant punching gloves and cushions so that we could get into partners and perform the tasks thrown at us. Even though at the end of the day my wrists were beat up and my whole body had a growing aching sensation, it made, once again, for an incredible day of memories and we’re down to single digits with the countdown of leaving. A melancholy feeling is just beginning to rise amongst the group, a hesitation of leaving all the bonding connections we’ve created in the past several days behind in this one summer.

Shanga Rose Meono Juckas

20150622_110743 20150622_110908 20150622_122147 20150623_090408 20150623_101810 20150623_112235 20150623_150252 20150623_150505

 

6/24/2015

HAPPY 18thBIRTHDAY KAYLA! We started the day by giving a big surprise to Kayla after she finished her run. The face she made was priceless! After that, we all headed down for another delicious breakfast by the river. We finished breakfast and we left the homebase and headed to the school. After our 3rdday of teaching, we headed to the museum, Art in Paradise where we were able to interact and be a part of the exhibit. Next came the part of the day we had all been anticipating since the intense day of Thai boxing the day before; Thai massages. After the relaxing massages, we drove back to the homebase and settled in with some comfort food such as mashed potatoes and salad. To add even more excitement to this great day, it was ended with a surprise pool party to wrap up Kayla’s 18thbirthday.

– Chloe Vermette

20150623_101722 20150624_072212 20150624_121132 20150624_121234 20150624_134213 20150624_135810 20150624_140200 20150624_193334 20150627_131209

6/25/2015

Today was pretty spectacular! We were able to have another day teaching English with the kiddos. We have all grown to love them. Supachai will always be in our hearts! After our last day teaching in the classrooms, we had the opportunity to chat with a monk. Lots of questions answered! He showed us around their university and we are full of knowledge that we didn’t have before. The time spent with the monk ended with some meditation.

– Cat Zagyva

6/26/2015

We’re done! The service part of this trip is over, which is both relieving and sad. As exciting as the English camp was, saying goodbye to all the adorable little Thai kids that we have built bonds and relationships with was actually very difficult. To restore our excitement and energy for the upcoming days, we had dinner at an American restaurant “The Dukes.” We all enjoyed a delicious meal with no complaints. After dinner, we were able to wander around a local night market. We love Thailand!

– AnnaMarie Tepe

20150626_091347 20150626_092051 20150626_145530 20150626_150159 20150626_180251

6/27/2015

At 8:30am today we were off to the city to begin our scavenger hunt. We were all looking forward to it as our mentors had kind of rubbed off their excitement (and they were REALLY excited!). We split up into teams and the competitiveness was palpable (or maybe it was just me). Once Andrea screamed “ready, set, go!” we all ran like mad women (plus Ben) and set off into the heart of Chiang Mai to rack up as many points as we could. It was amazing getting to discover a few of the many special nooks and crannies of this unique city. We got to interact with so many people: locals and tourists alike. After lunch, we headed to a place where we learned how to make traditional Thai umbrellas, and got to paint our own! It became very interesting when our guide turned into a fortune teller. Some of us are happy with the knowledge that we will be very, very rich, while others were told to work out so as not to become obese. It was a solidly dope day. Trill, man. Trill.

Kaela Van Der Vaart

20150627_132144 20150627_132322 20150627_133018 20150627_133117 20150627_133130 20150627_150157

 

7/1/2015

All students have departed and are on their way home!

 

Filed Under: Latest Posts

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • …
  • 39
  • Next Page »

Brought to you by

Copyright © 2025 · Executive Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in