Our Approach to Leadership

On Leadership

At Global Leadership Adventures, we believe that leaders are made and not born, and that leadership is a critical life skill that can be developed. Everyone can be a leader who rallies others around a vision or a goal.

We also think that individuals develop the foundation of their value-systems and their penchant for leadership during their formative adolescent years. This is why we founded an organization to nurture and develop young people. The GLA Experience will prepare participants for a lifetime of principled, ethical leadership.

Good vs. Great Leaders

A good leader is someone who positively affects change. A great leader maintains a global perspective, open-mind and caring outlook while impacting others. Unlike some summer leadership camps for high school students, GLA provides life-changing experiences that will cultivate these characteristics, inspiring students to be great leaders.

We admit that our goals are lofty. GLA is more than a high school, study abroad or volunteer abroad program. The GLA Experience is a catalyzing event for future global leaders to change the world.

More than Just Volunteering, Service-Learning

GLA aspires to be much more than just a way to volunteer abroad. Students say it’s a life-changing experience…parents tell us their kids come back transformed.

Our programs use a methodology called ‘service-learning’ which combines community service with different kinds of hands-on learning: learning about social and global issues and personal leadership.
In other words, it frames the volunteer work within a larger context – against the backdrop of the local community, the country or the world.

We believe that community service is a way not only to gain a deeper understanding of another country, but it also allows the student to understand their place in the world and their ability to change it. Our unique program design produces what many students call a life-changing experience, not just a summer program.