Every student wishes to attend a fun field trip with friends, so this is why the Catalina Island field trip was perfect. Amongst many college field trips, Kennedy’s environmental leadership program offered senior students under the GLEAM magnet to travel to Catalina Island, and one the great benefits of the trip was that it was an overnight, multi-day field trip.
Dayanara Valencia, a senior part of the Environmental Leadership program at Kennedy, talked about her visit to Catalina. “The reason I went on the trip was because I am part of GLEAM and I also wanted to expand my knowledge as well as passion for the environment,” she explained. Valencia shared that she went to do activities like kayaking and going to the beach, which were all such an amazing experience for her.
“I was really optimistic about the trip; I hoped to gain a greater connection with the people in my magnet as well as create personal memories with friends,” Valencia explained. She also pointed out how it wasn’t only the environmental leadership magnet but also other seniors went.
Upon asking Valencia her favorite part about the trip she laughed and joked, “What wasn’t my favorite part.”
She stated the whole trip itself was amazing, especially being able to bond with everyone while also exploring. “I think especially learning about how to help the environment, and I also realized that everyone wasn’t on their phones as much which made the trip even more sentimental,” she said.
Since the trip was geared towards the environment, Valencia explained exactly what they learned. “We learned how to compose and ways to be a leader, it especially resonated with me because of holding a leadership role,” Valencia said. “We also learned different ways to be sustainable not just with recycling but other ways to be implemented with everyday life and incorporated into the school.”
The trip also ran into a small hiccup before it even began. Valencia talks about how they had to go to school fairly early and then wait an extra two hours since the buses went to a different John F. Kennedy high school. “Apart from this I think the trip went smoothly and everyone enjoyed it, ” she stated.
Valencia highly recommends that anyone who is able to attend should go the next time as it is such an amazing learning experience. “Anyone can attend so why not go, I think that it emphasizes how we all need to help our planet and anyone could have gained something from there.”
Corinne Heatley, a teacher at Kennedy, also accompanied on the trip along with other science teachers. “30 GLEAM seniors applied to participate in the Catalina Environmental Leadership Program; I believe it is such an amazing opportunity, especially for students interested in having a career in this field,” she explained.
Along with Valencia explaining what events the students participated in, Heatley added other things they learned and did. She talked about how as part of the program students engaged in many outdoor activities such as snorkeling, hiking, rock climbing as well as educational and team bonding activities. Heatley believes that among these activities, “The night snorkeling and observing the bioluminescence seemed to intrigue and stick with students the most.”
She also talks about why GLEAM chose the Catalina Island trip as it aligned perfectly with their goals and commitment to global leadership and environmental action. Healey strongly advises those who are interested in learning more about environmental studies should apply for the magnet as well as when the time comes, the senior Catalina trip.