If you had told 14-year-old, Salvador, a wide-eyed freshman who had just arrived in the U.S. from a teeny-tiny school in Mexico, that one day he’d be sitting on the board of directors for the same program that helped him conquer his fear of speaking English… he probably would’ve nervously laughed and asked what “board […]
Words of Encouragement from ARC Alum for the New Year
Azteca Valdivia, a freshman at the University of Nevada, Reno and a graduate of the 2022 ARC Summer Course in Tahoe, is on a journey to succeed. While a senior at Sierra High in Truckee last year, Azteca applied for every scholarship she could find to ensure that she would be able to go to […]
ARC Alum Becomes A Cowboy Conservationist
Charly Mijares spent a lot of his childhood in the outdoors, but it wasn’t the glaciated peaks of Yosemite’s high country that were his first stomping grounds. From the time he was ten years old, he remembers, he would help his father weed out pomegranate orchards, train horses, and build irrigation ditches. He says, “In […]
Reconnecting with Self, Education, & the Outdoors
By Rachel Lightner Jorge Diaz first heard about Adventure Risk Challenge his freshman year of high school from two of his friends who had completed an ARC summer course. They spoke highly of the program and suggested he look into it, but it didn’t spark his interest at the time. It wasn’t until his junior […]
ARC Alum Winning College Debate Competitions
Gustavo (Gus) Garcia took the stage to read his ARC metaphorical poem “Another Layer” in July 2016, and he mesmerized the audience with his powerfully-delivered narrative. He discussed growing up in Merced, being raised by immigrant parents who worked tirelessly in the almond fields, and the social and emotional struggles of high school. Gus’s performance […]
An Alumna Shapes the Future for the Next Generation
Vannaleze (Vanna) Barcelos has a deep connection to Yosemite. For her, it’s a formative place where she discovered passions for the natural world, art, and education. She describes the Park as “magical,” inspiring childhood-like awe. A 19-year old freshman at University of California Merced, Vanna has had two immersive experiences in the Park through Adventure […]