Alexis Angulo began his ARC transformational essay with the question “What is home?” He wrote the essay in the final week of the 2015 Yosemite Summer Immersion Course, which he attended as a rising high school junior. Like many of us in high school, Alexis was questioning his identity and how he fit into the larger world. He […]
10 Years with ARC – Message from Mel
My name is Mel Hoffman, and I am the Program Director of Adventure Risk Challenge. I have the privilege of overseeing our Summer Immersion Courses and Community Leadership Program while supporting our program staff, and I am currently leading our hiring process to find a new Program Coordinator. I wanted to share with you my story of working for […]
ARC Alumni Launch YPB!
The ARC Young Professionals Board (YPB) had its inaugural retreat this weekend outside of Sacramento. The creation of this group was inspired by a trail conversation between ARC’s founder, Katie Zanto, and Yami Gutierrez, a graduate from ARC’s 2008 Tahoe summer course. Yami had served on another organization’s Young Professionals Board and wanted to offer similar […]
Identity Crisis: Overcoming a Clash of Cultures with ARC
As a teenager, Michelle Lee was at the center of a clash of cultures. At home in Merced, as a young Hmong woman, she imagined a traditional path for her future: marriage and nurturing children. She spoke only Hmong at home with her Mom. Meanwhile, at school, she was bullied when she used the language […]
Community Leadership Program Making an Impact
We are very excited to have launched a new academic-year program this fall: the ARC Community Leadership Program! Forty students are participating in the program at Truckee, North Tahoe, and Dos Palos High Schools, meeting regularly for in-school leadership workshops and participating in weekend adventures to California state and national parks. Weekend trips this fall have included […]
ARC Yosemite Staff Empowers the Voices of Youth
At 6PM tonight at Sierra Meadows in Awahanee (close to Yosemite and Oakhurst), eight ARC students will be performing beautifully-crafted stories of hardship and success. The event is deeply moving and the students have been preparing for Voices of Youth since their first wilderness expedition over a month ago in Hetch Hetchy. Four staff have […]