Your son or daughter. Our student.
When choosing a summer program, we encourage you to carefully consider the qualities that set Broadreach apart. We’re parents too, you see, and we know that students aren’t the only ones with a healthy degree of curiosity.
- Proven Experience
- Since 1993, we've taken thousands of young adults on adventures to countless countries. Extensive knowledge, planning and scouting go into developing each Broadreach program, and we constantly strive to refine our trips to take advantage of new opportunities while pushing our team and students to be the best.
- Safety
- Safety is perhaps the most important concern of families looking for a summer program for their teenagers. Rest assured that safety is our priority, from beginning to completion of each program. We believe students should experience success through accomplishment, not success through high-risk adventure. We understand no summer program can guarantee safety, but we are proud of our impressive safety record and comprehensive approach to risk management.
- Academic and Professional Accreditation
- All Broadreach courses focus on real achievement. Our academic programs are college-accredited, and transcripts are provided through our partnership with Lesley University. Adventures focusing on outdoor skill building and certification are accredited through internationally recognized certification agencies. For example, our dive programs are accredited by PADI (Professional Association of Dive Instructors). A fully accredited PADI Five Star Gold Palm facility, Broadreach is the world leader in youth dive education.
- Community Service
- All Broadreach programs include a community service component, which gives students unique cultural insights while they give back to the communities and ecosystems we visit. We often provide a letter for students who wish to use this experience to help fulfill a school requirement.
- Course Design
- Beyond adventure travel, it's how we explore and learn that drives our philosophy, reputation and success. It's our commitment to achievement and to learning as much about ourselves as the world around us. Small group size (limited to 10-14 participants) allows us to maximize learning, safety and fun catered to the dynamics, age and goals of each group. Each student becomes an integral part of the team, and we can take advantage of more opportunities, preserving the sense of adventure.
- Cultural Exploration
- Our students become part of the places we travel, experiencing extraordinary destinations in a way tourists cannot. While exploring the sights, sounds and smells of the countries we visit, our students interact with native people, gaining unique perspectives and respect for local customs.
- Education and Skill Building
- Our approach to education is unique. Reaching beyond the traditions of passive learning, our students are introduced to a wealth of educational experiences and environments that are dynamic and interactive. We start by building a foundation of knowledge, then incorporate experiential learning and service learning alongside experts. Regardless of the activity, proficiency is built sensibly through a step-by-step, learn-by-doing approach.
- Family Atmosphere
- We strive to have every parent and teen feel well-informed and a part of the Broadreach family. Our year-round staff is small and very experienced, so when you call our office you usually can speak directly with the individual that leads and/or designed your chosen trip.
- Our Staff
- With hundreds of applicants every year, we can be extremely selective in who we hire. College accredited trips are led by college professors or instructors with PhDs or master's degrees in the field of study. Leadership and certification based adventures are led by Coast Guard licensed sailing masters and PADI scuba instructors, WFR instructors and experiential education profressionals.
- Our Students
- They come from 50 states and 30 countries, with a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences, but all Broadreachers share a desire to have an exceptional summer by doing something different. Our goal for each trip is to build a diverse, motivated group. We highly encourage students to come by themselves, and 95% do.
- Personal Growth
- Our approach to experiential learning and global exploration promotes a strong sense of self and new insights into the world around you. Living side by side in small groups in foreign lands, Broadreachers face the timeless concepts of honesty and integrity, responsibility and dependability, commitment and respect for others. They are challenged to push beyond the familiar and discover their passions and potential.
- Program Diversity
- Our wide variety of exceptional programs and locations offers something for almost everyone. No matter what makes you tick, you will find an adventure that is all about you. And you can build on your passions summer after summer, from middle school to high school to college.
Contact Broadreach
Please feel free to call the Broadreach office if you have any questions or would like to discuss our adventures. We’d love to talk to you! You can also email us at questions@gobroadreach.com
A Parent’s Perspective
Read a letter from a parent. Go.
Dear Carlton,
It is hard to be an aspiring Marine Biologist when you live in the Mid-West. Such is the case with my daughter, Claire Levine. For several years we had discussed her going away to get some hands on, real world experience in the field that she feels very passionate about. About 2 winters ago she began exploring programs on the Internet and sending away for brochures. Broadreach percolated right to the top as her organization of choice. I remained skeptical at first, as Mothers do, but upon examining all the information on-line and in print, I agreed to look into it. I called your office and had most of my questions immediately answered and got a list of parents of previous participants to talk to. All of these were very positive and re-assuring experiences; as were the timely updates on logistics that I frequently received via e-mail. I was pretty confident that the trip would go smoothly when I put Claire on the plane early on one June morning.
The trip that she took (GV12) was better than Claire could have imagined while watching old Jacques Cousteau videos or too many Sponge Bob Square Pants episodes. She had taken her Open Water certification course here at home and the open water dives were in an old quarry just outside of Birmingham, Alabama where the underwater objects of interest were an old school bus and a fire engine!!!!! She was more than pleased with the amount and quality of diving on her Broadreach trip. She was able to get certified in all of the specialties that she thought were important and earn her Rescue Diver certificate. She loved the way Kristin and Daniel and Matt taught the diving classes and their enthusiasm about using the new skills. She returned to Memphis very confident about further explorations in the new field. Diving is now one of her “things”, something that she will always do. The marine life of the deep and the visit to Brother King’s Turtle Sanctuary expanded Claire’s intellectual interests. She is now actively searching for colleges with academic programs in marine science as well as near-by diving opportunities. I have to say that the whole experience has made her more focused and disciplined in all aspects of her life. Plus, she has wonderful memories to share with her family and her compatriots on the trip. Each time we see a tropical scene in a photo or on TV we are treated to another great Broadreach story. It really was a “mind broadening” experience.
I thank all of the Broadreach office staff for making logistics and planning of this trip so straightforward and non-worrisome. And I commend Claire’s counselors, Daniel Alchin, Kristen Bell and Matt Denny for teaching her some great new skills and providing her with a piece of her dream this summer. They also did a great job taking care of her when she was sick for a few days; she got better very quickly. In the Present Economic Climate I had wondered if such an adventure would be a frivolous waste of time and hard-earned money. It was not. My child returned jubilant, enlightened, and inspired — priceless.
Thank you again for the wonderful adventure.
— Margaret I. Dube
Aka Claire Levine’s Mom
A Student’s Perspective
Read a letter from a student. Go.
So, the first time I went on Broadreach (when I was 14), I had only done about twenty dives (done all very far apart) and it was still a new experience for me. I was one of those kids who was very timid and was afraid of taking risks, so diving was really stepping outside of my comfort-zone. I wanted to try something new, and diving was just one of those activities that made me feel unique; not a lot of kids my age did it. I‘d also never been fond of sleepaway camps, so this was quite a step for me.
With every trip, I learned more about myself. I began diving thinking that it would make me stick out, and now I do it because I can‘t imagine not diving. My life literally revolves around it. I want to be a marine biologist, and my dream come true would be writing for Sport Diver Magazine. If you had asked me what I wanted to do with my life four years ago and before these trips, I would have been stumped. Not only have scuba diving and Broadreach given me a direction to go in the future, but it has given me countless skills. I became a Master Diver on my first trip because I had this incredible drive to accomplish everything I could. The staff on that trip gave me no limits and I definitely adopted this "go-getter" motto after that trip.
I also discovered my love for travel on all of these trips. I am so lucky to have been diving all over the world and I now jump at every opportunity to experience a new culture and place when I can. I used to be afraid of leaving Maryland because I feared what wasn‘t familiar. I have also met some of the best people on these trips. I continue to stay in touch with people from every one of my trips who live all over the world, and words cannot describe how thankful I am for having met them. That‘s another thing that I learned on Broadreach trips: how to be outgoing and embrace meeting new people. You would never think now that I used to be a shy person. Every summer I return wanting nothing more than to go back and I know it‘s because I always discover more about myself on these trips; they bring out the best qualities in me.
— Alex Aines, Bethesda, Maryland
Why is Broadreach the leader in summer programs for teens? The numbers tell the story!
In a recent survey of our alumni:
96%
Would recommend Broadreach and Academic Treks to a friend.
96%
Said their Broadreach and Academic Treks experience was positive, even life changing.
98%
Said our instructors were supportive and caring role models who helped them reach their goals.
Broadreach in action. Want a glimpse of the freedom of life on a yacht? Or the thrill of diving with sharks in Fiji, surfing in Baja or cresting the ridge above Machu Picchu? Watch our videos to see and hear our adventures firsthand, and start wishing you were there.