Julia, Maddy and their group in a classroom in Kenya.
Back in the summer of 2014, two Monta Vista cross country runners–Julia Chang (now at Johns Hopkins University) and Madeleine Yip (now at Stanford University) went to Kenya for three weeks with a high school group called STRIVE. Julia went the summer before her senior year at MV, and it was the summer before Maddy’s junior year. It was a great experience for them with some cultural exchange, interesting running at high altitude, and some fun travel experiences. Both girls went on to have good running results and academic results. I certainly would not worry about training, both Julia and Maddy came back and were in the top-five of a very fast varsity team that went to State that season. And both girls went on to have excellent college applications. So the experience was not only memorable and educational but also was part of their academic and athletic achievements.
The group that they traveled with operates three week trips each summer to both Kenya and Peru (if you want the chance to work on your Spanish!). I have not traveled with either group so I can’t personally provide an endorsement but…it sounds like this is an interesting trip for summer that I would have liked to have done when I was in high school! See someplace interesting, do something running-related, use my Spanish if went to Peru…why not? It’s your call but seems to me like this is worth considering for a summer activity.
The group reached out to me, and their flyer is attached. I think it would be a lot of fun to try one of these trips! I would enjoy having several MVXC athletes head off to Kenya or Peru–and I would love to hear all the stories afterwards!
