Each summer, Proctor Academy offers two Summer Service Trips during the months of June and July to students and faculty/staff. The first trip saw 14 students and three faculty members travel to Guatemala where the group worked alongside Lemonade International in La Limonade (the largest slum in Central America) for one week before living and volunteering with the Mesoamerican Permaculture Institute (IMAP), a non-profit organization located in the community of Pachitulul, on the south edge of Lake Atitlán between San Lucas Tolimán and Santiago Atitlán. In addition to staying with local families in a homestay setting, students, including Andover’s Vienna Marcus ‘20 and Sean Slick ‘20, spent time working at the ecological education center, which is primarily focused on promoting permaculture techniques, local biodiversity conservation and the production of organic food.

A second trip saw ten students and two adults travel to the Pine Ridge and Rosebud Reservations in South Dakota where the group learned from and gave back to the Lakota Nation. Students stayed with a local Proctor family, experienced traditional ceremonies, learned about the history of the Lakota people and the land, and gave back to ongoing projects on the reservation, including work at an equine therapy center with their strength and energy. Students, including Andover’s Chloe Methven ‘18, Betsy Abrahamson ‘18, and Amanda Hines ‘19, had the chance to meet a number of Proctor alumni who continue to live and invest in their communities in Rosebud and Pine Ridge.

To learn more about Proctor’s Summer Service Trips, check out Proctor’s Website: www.proctoracademy.org/page/off-campus/summer-service-learning or read student reflections at blogs.proctoracademy.org!