Global Service Learning

Lakeside’s Global Service Learning (GSL) program combines learning, service, and cultural immersion, developing students’ understanding of and respect for different countries and cultures, as well as the common issues shared by people around the world. Our goal is to nurture an ethos of global citizenship in our students by connecting their lives to the needs and realities of a global society, empowering them to become agents of change.

In the Middle School, all 8th graders participate in a one-week GSL experience in one of six Pacific Northwest communities during the fall, deepening their understanding of how global concerns connect to and influence our region. Upper School students have more choice and agency; they can apply to participate in a one-month summer GSL experience or enroll in a yearlong class that includes a three-week GSL experience.

There is only so much global knowledge that can be learned from books, movies, or in a classroom. The rest can only be absorbed through immersion. - Ava L. ’25

Access and affordability

The cost of the Middle School experience is fully included in tuition. Upper School Global Service Learning experiences have an additional cost, and financial aid is available.

Middle School Global Service Learning

The Middle School Global Service Learning Program is a six-day cultural- and service-immersion trip for 8th-grade students that takes place during the fall. The program helps students develop an awareness and understanding of, and respect for, the diverse set of communities in the Pacific Northwest and the common issues throughout the region. The goal of the program is to inspire students to develop intercultural competence in their local communities and around the world.

Building on the Middle School academic curriculum and students’ service learning and outdoor experiences in grades 5-7, 8th graders and teachers travel to one of the following six local sites: the Makah, Elwha, and Quinault indigenous communities on the Olympic Peninsula; Pasco and Cloudview Farm in Central and Eastern Washington’s agricultural region; and an immigrant and refugee community in Spokane.

At all locations, students learn from local partners and work alongside community members to gain a holistic understanding of daily life, culture, and the complex issues facing each community. The immersive and collaborative structure of the trips helps students deepen their ability to think critically about the relationships between environment and culture by allowing them to experience these dynamics firsthand. The trips also prepare students to participate in the international service learning experiences of the Upper School Global Service Learning program.

Locations

Makah Reservation

Students spend the week on the Makah Reservation on the northwest tip of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. Students become involved in the life of the Makah tribe by making connections with community members, including elders and youth. They explore traditions and contemporary issues, learning about the Makah language, storytelling, ethnobotany, crafts, games, and folklore from tribal members. Service projects involve collaborating with younger students at Neah Bay Elementary School, volunteering at the Senior Center, and cleaning up area beaches. Students will gain an appreciation for the deeply rooted connections between the Makah people and the natural environment of the Olympic Coast, along with an understanding of the importance of cultural preservation for the Makah Nation.

Elwha River Restoration

Students will examine issues relating to the restoration of the Elwha River watershed and the monumental removal of the Elwha Dams on the north shore of the Olympic Peninsula. There, they will learn firsthand about the dynamic interactions between the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, Olympic National Park, botanists, salmon fisheries specialists, and others who have been involved with restoring this ecosystem. Students will also explore the culture of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, learning about the Klallam language, history, and art. The experience also includes volunteering with Olympic National Park and connecting with Klallam tribal community leaders and youth.

Quinault Reservation

Students travel to Lake Quinault on the southern portion of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. There, they connect with and work alongside middle school students from the Lake Quinault School. The group learns about the issues affecting the Quinault tribal community and the relationship between the tribe, Olympic National Park, and the US Forest Service. Students will examine topics such as fisheries, logging, and recreation in the Lake Quinault region while engaging in trail work and habitat reforestation with the tribe and the United States Forest Service.

Pasco

Students spend the week in Pasco and the surrounding area learning about issues relating to agriculture and food systems. Students stay in the Vista Hermosa orchard community and work alongside a partner class of middle school students from Pasco on community-identified projects and participate in recreational activities. Students gain an understanding of the unique demographics and dynamics of the Pasco / Tri-Cities region, considering food production and access as they engage in meaningful service-learning activities with local organizations.

Cloudview Farm

Students learn about small-scale organic farming and the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) movement at Cloudview Farm in Ephrata, Washington. During the week, students experience all aspects of life on the farm. They assist farmers with daily tasks such as weeding, harvesting produce, and caring for livestock. Students also help facilitate farm field trips for early elementary-aged students, work on a farm-based community project, and prepare for the weekly shareholder’s produce pickup and farm market. Through their experience, students gain an understanding of complex environmental, economic, and social dynamics in the Columbia River watershed.

Spokane

Students spend the week in Spokane, Washington, learning about the multi-faceted support network relating to refugees and recent immigrants. Students will connect with Feast World Kitchen, World Relief Spokane and other organizations to learn about what refugee and recent immigrant families experience when they arrive in the United States. Students will also partner with schools, food banks, and other organizations that support refugees and immigrants of all ages.

I would not trade this experience for anything in the world. This trip truly showed me how much complexity a story can have, and how different perspectives can create a beautiful collage that is a story
- Iveta Z. ‘28

Students by lake sitting in circle with an adult

Upper School Global Service Learning

The Upper School Global Service Learning program brings students to live and work in rural communities abroad that they may not otherwise experience. Lakeside maintains long-term, collaborative relationships with community based program partners in sites around the world, including partner organizations with Lakeside alums on staff. Locations change over time to reflect these evolving and expanding partnerships, but our partner communities in recent years are located in Asia, Central and South America, North and East Africa, and the South Pacific Islands.

Students’ Global Service Learning experiences take place either in the summer or as part of a yearlong class. The summer experiences begin with a three-day pre-trip orientation on Lakeside’s campus in mid-June, during which students learn about the culture, language, and economic and environmental contexts of the country to which they are traveling. Students then depart and spend four weeks immersed in a host community, alongside three adult trip leaders. Each student lives with a homestay family; for many, this is the most transformative aspect of their experience. In addition to experiencing a new way of life in a community different from their own, students form new friendships and a deep personal understanding of another culture.

Two yearlong academic classes have Global Service Learning components. While the classes and locations change from year to year, the three-week trips connect with what students have been learning in the classroom and involve fieldwork in that discipline. Like the summer trips, students are immersed in the host community, live with a host family, and work with community partners. Previous classes include an Advanced Ecological Studies traveling to French Polynesia and a Spanish IV class traveling to Costa Rica.

Through service, I learned that it’s not about doing something for a community but doing it with them. Understanding their perspective and needs before starting a project was crucial.
- Bella G. ‘26

The meaningful connections students form with their host communities are deepened by the service learning projects in which they participate. Service projects are determined in collaboration with the host community. Students learn about health, poverty, philanthropy, development economics, and education issues relevant to their specific locations. They are instructed by, and work together with, local experts on projects that address these issues. Previous projects have included building earthen bathrooms and irrigation projects in Thailand, transplanting seedlings on a farm in Senegal, and working with children in summer enrichment programs that Lakeside students have designed and implemented in Fiji and Tanzania. Students can put their knowledge to good use, but are also challenged to work together on projects that push them out of their comfort zones.

Students return from Global Service Learning trips with improved language skills (often in a language they do not study at school), interests in new fields of study, increased empathy – both for their Lakeside peers and for people in their host community, and a greater understanding of the complexities of our interconnected world.

Learn more about Global Service Learning

GSL French Polynesia: Dance as service

by Imani G. '27

GSL Peru: Throwing dirt and throwing ego

by Albert R. ’27

GSL Senegal: Changing perspective

by Taimur G. ’27

Lakeside School

Experiential Education