Reflections, 2024: Our student yearbook

Our Students

Meet Farther Foundation’s 2024 class of student travelers. They have shared their experiences with us, and now, we share them with you in our annual yearbook, Reflections.

mission and vision

Too many students in and around Chicago live in communities defined by historic inequities, disinvestment, and lack of opportunities based on race, ethnicity, and other factors unrelated to their talents and aspirations.

Farther Foundation enables students to experience the wider world through educational travel. Our students become immersed in new cultures, provide community service, cultivate leadership potential and attain personal growth. Inspired by their experience, our program alumni return home with new skills, confidence, and enthusiasm—ready to take on new challenges in school and in life.

impact

100% of our alumni graduate from high school, 98% go on to college, and 87% graduate or remain on-track to graduate college.

videos

Some of our students chose to make videos to share their experiences with us — Check them out!

aneth

“This trip was the biggest moment of growth in my life and I will never forget it. I gained so many skills that made me sure of success. It helped heal my social anxiety, gave me confidence in my leadership, and it made me further realize what I truly love.”

Aneth traveled to Thailand where she engaged in community service while immersing herself in the language and culture of this unique land.

selene

“Attending my summer program made me realize that emergency medicine was not for me. Seeing an open femur fracture and a knee being drilled through was something that I could not deal with seeing every day. Rather, it made me realize that the pediatric side of medicine is where I’m meant to be. Working through the delivery simulation was fun and interesting.”

Selene spent her summer at a healthcare focused program at Georgetown University

omar

“If my time at Brown taught me anything, it was to live in the moment and trust the process. The first few days I kept trying to plan on how I should act and interact with other people. But when I let myself go with the flow and be myself that’s when the true friends came.”

edgar

“For a month, I lived with a host family, attended a three-hour Japanese class every day, participated in cultural excursions, and visited multiple temples, shrines, and cities such as Hiroshima and Nara. Amongst these experiences, I cherished my time with my host family the most. While visiting sacred grounds and enjoying delicious food were amazing, the connections I developed with my host family were unparalleled.”

Hayley

“My instructor Tony is truly a kind hearted soul, who made not only my experience better, but my peers' experience better as we learned so much more than we could’ve ever learned in America. I was able to pick up on the Spanish culture and their way of living, I was able to go into a deep dive in the Spanish language, and explore new foods, and I owe it all to Farther, and more importantly, Tony.”

Alexander

“During our Crete stay, we toured through historic town centers, beautiful olive groves, and stopped at Lake Kournas, a well-hidden lake within the mountains. My favorite part of Crete was visiting a family owned farm, creating a honey and cheese Greek pastry from scratch, it was delicious.”

Jeanine

"My trip to South Africa was not only exciting and new, it was also eye opening for me. During my time at Elsie’s Library I built a bond with several kids. They made my day every time I went to the library because they were always so full of joy and were genuinely interested in building a connection with me. They wanted to learn from me and vice versa so we exchanged different cultural knowledge. Taking time to enjoy people and appreciating life, as simple as it may sound, is valuable as well. A touching statement that I was left with was, ‘If you ever feel small in your community, remember that you came to Elsie’s and made a lasting impact on the kids lives.’”

Gabriel

“I was always into Biology, but before this trip, I was unsure whether I was truly into studying wildlife and endangered animals. Australia is very protective of its wildlife as it protects both sea and terrain life from becoming endangered. Even so, laws weren’t the only thing Australia did to protect its wildlife, they also advocated for animals through school programs and other methods to raise awareness about becoming endangered.”

chanel

“There isn’t just one moment in the Alaska trip that made it the best thing to ever happen to me; it was a myriad of small and meaningful moments. I felt like I belonged; I wasn't left behind in my group. It taught me to take initiative; and to not distance myself because I feel vulnerable. These people became my home.”

vianney

“Reflecting on the entire experience, I realize how much I’ve grown. Before the trip, I wasn’t sure of my direction or my ability to navigate such a significant challenge alone. But through the challenges and joys of my time in Spain, I learned that I am capable of more than I thought. I’ve developed a deeper appreciation for community involvement and now have a clearer sense of how I want to contribute to society.”

Paula

“Throughout this journey in Thailand I learned that personal growth often comes from stepping out of your comfort zone and embracing new challenges. This trip was more than just a vacation experience, it was a personal transformation. This journey helped me gain consciousness of my self-worth and realization of my potential to achieve my life goals. The memories are my inspiration to never doubt again what I am capable of. Thailand inspired me to reshape my life and to approach the world with a courageous soul.”

College Campus Experiences

This past summer, our students lived and studied on college campuses including: Harvard, Brown, Yale, Carleton, Smith, and more. They learned time management, good study habits, and how to do laundry. They learned they could do college level work. Plus, they made friends from across the country and around the world, discovering that diversity is a strength to be valued in themselves and others.

alexandro

“Being with the elephants was an awesome experience. I got to be up close with an animal I thought I would never see up close. I was there every day excited to see the elephants and seeing everyone happy brought joy to me. Realizing this dream I had was someone else's daily life and made me think about how everyone's life is different, and one's dream could be another's reality.”

Alexandro’s program took him to Thailand.

adrian

“Hearts racing, we try to save the life of a robotic man who went through heart failure. He began to yell in pain, I stood there in shock not knowing what to do. I was able to perform CPR and give him oxygen and shock to revive him. The whole simulation was overwhelming and frightening. Even though this was not a real man, the emotions that he was portraying made me uncomfortable and it felt like my mind went blank. However, with the support of my partners and the doctor, I was able to play a major role in saving his life. I often view healthcare through the lens of Grey's Anatomy, this glamorized heroic responsibility. While participating in the National Student Leadership Conference’s program on Medicine & Healthcare at UC Berkeley, I learned that healthcare is much more than just being a hero; it is the ability and courage to save lives.”

hiyatt

“Even though all of these places felt like home there really is no right answer to what is ‘home’. Home is what you make of it and the people who you decide to allow into your life. Studying abroad brought out the best out of me and I thank the Farther Foundation for this opportunity in allowing me to find out what type of “home” I want to build when I am in college.”

Hiyatt found a sense of home in France with her host family and a new group of friends.

Jeremiah

“The experience helped with my individual growth as well. I learned to use public transportation, order food in Spanish, and learned a ton of Spanish slang. My confidence was built with each step I took. I learned that growth isn’t always about hitting big milestones every time. It's about the progress you make until you reach those big milestones.”

Jeremiah traveled to Spain and credits his host family with helping him better understand the language and culture.

kajah

“The moment I entered the Yale University campus for the first time felt surreal. The pictures that I had spent hours viewing online didn’t do justice to the real thing. That first day, my nerves were at an all-time high, but upon entering my room and finding out that my suite mate was coincidentally from the same city as me, everything felt right. On just my first day of being at the program, I met people from all over the world, countries ranging from Paraguay to Sweden to South Africa. Everyone that I met during my time at Yale left an impact on me, but the people in my “family” taught me just as much if not more than the program itself. Families in Yale Young Global Scholars are made up of 12 people from the same academic track. My track, Innovations in Science and Technology, was filled with students who, like me, have a passion for some branch of STEM.”

maya

“After a long day of class, we would take walks around the historical Oxford Campus and maybe grab dinner or a snack here and there. I truly felt free for this time away. I live on the far south side of Chicago and have never been able to just walk freely anywhere due to ongoing safety issues and violence. Walking freely around the campus of Oxford was a complete breath of fresh air.  I immersed myself in the culture and history of Oxford England and learned the history behind the ginormous campus”

scythe

“In the summer of 2024, I attended Carnegie Mellon University. In the pre-college drama program, I rediscovered my love for the art of theater. But mainly, I fell in love with the entire experience.”

jasmin

“I arrived in Seville Spain with an open mind and a goal of forming long-lasting friendships. At the end of every day, my roommates and I would debrief about our day, but mostly we used that time to learn more about each other. This showed me the importance of communication because I was being heard and considered by people I had just met, which showed me how significant my opinion should be to the people who have known me for longer. Communicating how you feel is not only important to form stronger bonds with others, but it’s also vital for your well-being.”

Edeline

“The sun became a symbol of beautiful, vibrant life to each place I went, initially arriving in Athens and eventually making my way to Lefkada and Kefalonia. To give you some background on my swimming experience, I am not a frequent swimmer, knowing only how to swim from one place to another but cannot tread water. During free time to enjoy the sea I had my life vest on because I didn’t feel confident in my ability to stay afloat. As the sun beamed above, I learned to face the unknown - not just in the water, but in myself.”

abigail

“I’ve never been one to be scared away from a new experience and I’m glad I was able to truly put this to the test. As I enter my college career and adult life, I need to be prepared to take unfamiliar paths, to not follow the crowd. I know now I’m ready, and while I’m sure not all of my decisions will always lead to success, I’ll always be able to look back and be proud of how I got where I am.”

Abigail spent her summer boldly exploring Portugal.

Camila

“Having had this amazing opportunity to travel across the country, alone to a city that I had never been to before was pretty scary. This trip pushed me out of my comfort zone, which I would highly recommend that others do since I am now considering various out-of-state schools for college. Through this experience, I was able to take home the idea that oftentimes we are blinded by our fears when in reality there isn’t anything to worry about. From now on, I will try to stand by this since before I headed off to Boston, I allowed my fears to get in the way of this incredible journey.”

Camila received a head start on college opportunities and challenges by attending a summer session at Boston University.

daniel

"During my study abroad experience in Kyoto, Japan I was able to participate in many unique opportunities that I wasn’t even aware existed; however, the one that had the most profound impact on me was when we got to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. Prior to our departure to Hiroshima, I had a brief idea of what to expect since I had previous historical knowledge about Japan, and knew the significance of Hiroshima, but I was unsure about what activities we would participate while in Hiroshima, especially since we were foreigners, so I believed we could be potentially viewed negatively. Thankfully, my beliefs that we would be perceived negatively were proven untrue with our first official day in Hiroshima giving us the chance to meet a select few college students that were enthusiastic to meet everyone, especially since they would be joining us in the day’s activities, which consisted of us meeting a survivor of the Hiroshima bombing. Teruko Yahata shared her heart-wrenching story about the bombing, and we were allowed to explore the memorial museum itself. Despite, my initial expectations, I had still hadn’t expected a speaker, much less a survivor, to discuss the Hiroshima bombing, but I was much less prepared to handle the story that followed as Teruko Yahata shared her own personal account of events: the destruction, the death, the struggle to survive, and much more. Truly speaking, I can’t put her story into words without doing it a disservice, but it served as an introduction to the horrors and waves of utter despair that I felt throughout my tour of the Hiroshima Memorial Museum in the aftermath of Teruko Yahata’s story.”

Thank you so much for supporting our students and their future.

• Your tax-deductible donations make life- changing experiences possible.

• Farther Foundation is a 501(C)(3) charitable scholarship organization.

The Board of Directors, Farther Foundation

David Weindling
Susan J. White
Laura Swartzbaugh
Melissa Coughlin
Nina Ricci
Ed Cruickshank
Matt Crossett
Rosario Gonzalez
Jocelyn Duran