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This 3-credit summer travel course is open to all Shomer Shabbat undergrads in any university, especially those who are career-minded, communally-minded, and chessed-oriented. 

It will primarily benefit students interested in finance/economics, sociology, pre/public/allied health, education, politics, psychology, and Jewish studies. 

Reconsider if you are looking for luxury accommodation, do not enjoy packing light, or are not good with deadlines.

Application

YU students:

Use ID #233860 to apply by April 14th to receive the $500 SGC subsidy. 

You'll need both an approved resume and a detailed cover letter (Tip: Carefully review the position posting on YUCL for instructions re: what to include). 

Non-YU students: 

Email your resume and the contact number of a Rabbinic reference to daniel.coleman@yu.edu together with the best times for a Zoom call on April 13th. 

Your cover letter MUST include: 

• The strengths and/or skills you bring to this program; some of the countries you’ve visited in the past (and with whom); Bonus: What did you learn from these experiences?
• 2-3 of the you plan to focus on – and why.
• Optional: What do you feel will be the most challenging part of the travel course?

Course fee

The course fees cover the cost of the trip, including your insurance, accommodation, domestic travel, food, and activities while overseas. 

(Due to increased costs associated with late changes to the program, the program price will increase to $3000 if space is still available in late April.)   

An initial non-refundable deposit of $1500 will be due by April 19th.

The balance will be due by midnight on May 10th.

Your timely payments are crucial for us to pay our overseas deposits on time. Failure to meet these deadlines may mean that you'll be unable to participate in this program and forfeit your deposit. 

Students will be responsible for booking their own flights at their own expense NLT 30 days before the program begins.

Fundraising

We ask that you raise $100 (minimum) to support the programs we run and the non-profits we'll be partnering with. This will enable us to make a bigger impact during our trip, as will friends/family members who help you purchase supplies from the Amazon wish-list that our partners request to bring with us. 

Yes. But don’t drink the tap water! 

This is YU's 4th trip to the country since 2003.

We'll stay near Comunidad Judia de Guatemala (CJG), the Orthodox community's campus in the capital's upscale hotel district, and also in the idyllic UNESCO World Heritage town of Antigua. 

Scores of Jewish and general groups (and tens of thousands of families and individuals) visit the region each year, thankfully without incident. These range from medical missions, groups of Jewish young professionals, Jewish high schools, and others.

Guatemala is and was among the first to move its embassy to Yerushalayim!  The President even speaks fluent Hebrew!

A lot. 

You'll learn Spanish (several hours a day for a week!)

You’ll learn about yourself and your peers. 

You’ll learn and build on the that employers most desire. 

You’ll learn about healthcare disparities and the social determinants of health. 

And much more! 

Plenty. You'll get a really good feel for Guatemalans, their history, country and culture. 

Weather-permitting we'll get up close to a live volcano, see some of the country's most popular tourist attractions, and enjoy the beautiful countryside.  

1. Purchase and read our core text: (TBD) in preparation for our first group discussion.

2. Prepare to share a 2-5 minute Dvar Torah with your peers and/or Jewish community.

3. Engage in some pre-reading about the Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) and NACE competencies.

4. Consider the types of things that NGOs/communities/families in poor areas without access to clean water and regular electricity may need. (We'll aim to bring with us some of the items they request.)

5. Read about Ethical Volunteering and the Savior complex. Start .

Once your full application has been reviewed and accepted, we'll notify you to proceed with booking your flights to/from Guatemala's international airport (GUA). 

Currently, flights are ~$440 RT and rising by around $40-$80 each week.

Be sure to arrive by noon on Tuesday May 26th and depart no earlier than 5pm on Thursday June 4th.

We recognize that students will be coming from different regions and encourage you to use Google Flights or an agent/site of your choice to book the option that works best for you.

~2 weeks before departure, we'll share a spreadsheet with everyone's travel details to help you coordinate travel with others on your flight, and we'll confirm transport arrangements to our hotel, just 10 minutes from the airport and near Guatemala City's beautiful JCC-style Shul campus. 

The course will be led by , Sr. Associate Director of Career Advising at the Shevet Glaubach Center (SGC), and Chaplain in the US Air Force Reserves (USAF-R). He's led trips to the region for multiple groups; Read about his first YU trip , and see the . 

He will be accompanied by Dr. Jill Katz, Department Chair, Sociology, on her 3rd YU trip to Guatemala!    

(Additional staff/faculty TBA.)

Email daniel.coleman@yu.edu