This website is visited by the family and friends of participants in Putney Student Travel's Community Service program in Bense, Dominica to check in on the progress of the group.
Monday, June 30, 2008
The group has arrived
We've received word from the leaders that the group has (at long last!) arrived in Dominica. Despite an exhausting series of travels, everyone is in good spirits and excited to get settled into their village and home for the month, Bense.
American Airlines June 28: AA1635 JFK/SJU 8:00 A - 11:55 A June 28: AA5062 SJU/DOM 12:35 P - 2:28 P July 25: AA5113 DOM/SJU 2:22 P - 4:15 P July 25: AA586 SJU/EWR 5:50 P - 9:55 P
Trip Leaders
Aryn Fleegler and Michael Kavalus
ARYN FLEEGLER
Colgate University, B.A., Sociology; New York State Elementary Education Certification. During college, Aryn was a Resident Advisor, a member of a sorority, and rowed on the crew team. Her love of travel began during a semester abroad in Stockholm, Sweden. Aryn's travels have included trips to the Middle East, Belgium, the Czech Republic, and Mozambique. After graduation from Colgate, Aryn joined the Peace Corps and moved to South Africa as a school and community resource volunteer, serving and residing in a remote Limpopo Province village. While there, she started the Limpopo Holiday basketball camp, was active in community discussions about HIV/Aids, and demo taught in her village's school. Upon completion of 2 years of Peace Corps service, Aryn stayed in South Africa, relocating to Pretoria, to teach a diverse group of 4th and 5th graders at an international school. In the fall, Aryn will be attending the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, where she will be a M.S.Ed candidate. Aside from foreign adventure travel, Aryn enjoys hiking, reading, sewing, and dancing. Although this is her first summer as a leader, she has been a Putney participant in the past, attending Excel at Williams College when she was in high school.
MICHAEL KAVALUS
Bucknell University, B.A., Psychology, Minors in Philosophy & Religion. Michael caught the travel bug at seventeen when he backpacked through Europe for five weeks with a friend. He has studied in Spain and the Virgin Islands, surfed in Hawaii and Mexico, and done philanthropy work in Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Upon graduating from Bucknell, Michael took a job teaching inner-city students in south central Los Angeles. Following a year in education, Michael moved to New York City to pursue another of his passions-acting and film. He has become very involved with Water in New York-a non-profit initiative that serves to bring clean water and sanitation to impoverished areas in Africa, India, and Bangladesh. Michael enjoys surfing, reading the New York Times, live music, yoga, black and white photography, and soccer.