ABOUT WANDRIAN ACADEMY
Wandrian Academy is a subsidiary of Great Beyond Adventures. Our customized adventures proved so popular among educators and student adventeers that we felt it was time to create a branch of GBA dedicated entirely to serving lifelong learners. Whether you are an educator who wants to lead your students on the trip of a lifetime or a student who wants to explore our planet and experience life outside of your comfort zone, we are here to provide support and lend our experience and expertise to your expedition. With Wandrian Academy, you can feel comfortable about leaving your comfort zone.
Wandrian Academy provides unique small-group educational travel experiences. We combine adventures, education, and culture into a one-of-a-kind adventure travel package that inflicts minimal impact on the environment and on the cultures we visit. We take great pride in our attention to detail and our customer service, and we are constantly monitoring our progress to improve your experience. We want to know, what’s your adventure?
Our Staff
Wandrian Academy staff members live and breathe adventure. Our C.E.O. (Chief Educational Officer) holds permanent New York State certification in Elementary Education (pre-kindergarten – grade 6) and English (grades 7-12) and has almost a decade of real-world classroom experience. His experience ranges from teaching advanced English to students at an upscale rural/suburban high school to teaching English as a Second Language to Haitian refugees at a high-needs school in Brooklyn through the Teachers of Tomorrow program.
Our guides are experts who have been carefully vetted and chosen based on a strenuous process that ensures professionalism, safety awareness, risk management, and above all are genuine in their approach to you and the cultures and environment they encounter.
An Educational Adventure, not just a tour.
The great Greek poet and playwright Euripides said: “Experience, travel – these are as education in themselves.” We agree. We also agree with the medieval Persian poet Saadi, who said: ″A traveler without observation is a bird without wings.” These statements reflect our educational philosophy in that we believe your adventure will be educational in and of itself, and will be greatly enhanced by pre-adventeering inquiry and post-voyage reflection. The voyage itself will provide ample opportunity for learning, and we believe you should enjoy it to the fullest as you experience it.
At Wandrian Academy we respect educators. We’re not here to tell you how to teach your students; you know how to do that already. But we are available as a resource to offer suggestions on regional literature, scientific studies, geography, politics, history, arts and culture. We are also happy to offer our support in assisting you with ideas for pre- and post-adventure lesson planning. We also support the creation of student portfolios and applying Adventeering experience to college essays and job applications.
Who travels with Wandrian Academy?
Our adventures are open to students who are at least 12 years old on the date of departure. An Educational Adventure is not your standard educational tour, it’s for teachers and students who want to make relevant connections to the people, places and things they are learning about in the classroom. Our programs are meant to create a bridge between the classroom and real world experiences in order to develop a deeper understanding of the global connectedness of various economies, cultures and people. A Wandrian Academy Educational Adventure requires a mental and physical commitment and upon completion, you will reap the rewards for the rest of your life. We are one more step towards creating life-long learners
Choose your own path
Just as there are multiple paths to education, there are many ways to achieve a successful Educational Adventure. Wandrian Academy Adventures have three components:
Team Building and Full Participation:
“Choose your own path” is not just a catch phrase; it’s our mission. Your students will begin taking responsibility from the day they are introduced to one of our Adventure Consultants. You and your students will make key decisions about the shape your adventure takes. We not only allow our clients to help develop their own customized itinerary, but we encourage participation. We want to help design an adventure that suits your curriculum, adheres to your values and enhances your understanding of the world. Together we will create an adventure that keeps you and your students engaged in a meaningful manner. Every Wandrian Academy Adventure begins with a team meeting during which a team leader, accountant, safety officer and other support positions are elected. Team positions are rotated on a schedule, allowing every team member an equal share in the adventure and an opportunity to shine. The group dynamic offers team members opportunities to utilize individual strengths and to rely on one another for support.
Adventeering (Service learning):
All Wandrian Academy Adventeers engage in some form of volunteerism. The “give back” component of our adventure teaches empathy and compassion, as well as fostering in-depth cultural understanding. Nothing is more educational than working side-by-side with the people of the communities and cultures you visit. You will be offered a number of excellent opportunities, and we will do our best to accommodate your first choice, whether it’s working with children, helping animals, saving the environment, or building homes. You and your students will choose the project that you feel will have the best benefit for your chosen community.
Adventure Component:
As Ghandi said, "Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will." A good adventure provides opportunities to test your rigor, enhance your resolve and prove your mettle. Challenging yourself physically is crucial to understanding your own physical and mental limitations. Our adventures provide a team challenge that should be accomplished by all. By meeting this challenge your students will learn to overcome adversity as individuals and as a team. Each team member will gain valuable life skills and valuable coping mechanisms that will serve them throughout their lives. Team challenges can be as simple as an extended hike, or as complex as scaling a mountain or planning a multi-day, self-supported rafting trip.
Safety:
At Wandrian Academy, safety is first and foremost. We take safety seriously. Wandrian Academy (and our parent company Great Beyond Adventures) continue to maintain a Zero reported incident rating. We have worked hard to achieve this rating, and have taken every possible measure to ensure we keep it. Multiple overlapping resources are in place to ensure our teams are safe, first and foremost. Our teams remain in constant contact with our in-country and overseas offices. We know and trust our guides. Our guides have all been fully vetted, and must have first aid training and strong language skills to even be considered. We take great pride in our safety practices, and in the individualized attention, scrutiny and risk assessment placed on each and every aspect of an adventure. It’s this attention to detail that ensures we continue to keep our Zero reported incident rating.
Go ahead. Share your dreams. We’re here to help you make them realities.