Design Tech  

High School’s 
Travel Program 
Guidebook 

© Travel Program V1 (8.29.19)

 Our Mission  
To provide d.tech students equal 
opportunity to use travel as a tool for 
education and self growth by immersing 
themselves in other cultures through 
sustainable service and exchange. 
 
 
Dedication 
The Travel Program Guidebook is 
dedicated to students who are passionate 
about travel and want to create an impact 
in not just their communities, but 
communities around the world. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

1
 Table of Contents  
(Any question you have can hopefully be answered in one of these sections, if not 
please ask Travel Program folk any questions or concerns you might have.  
YOU DON’T NEED TO READ THROUGH EVERY PAGE, JUST USE THE TABLE OF 
CONTENTS TO FIND THE SECTION YOU NEED!) 
 
Topic  Page
# 

Introduction  4 

Two Year Plan  5-8 

What is a Mentor? What is a Teacher  9 

Mentor? 

What’s a Core Member? How do I  10 

Choose Core Members for my Trip? 

What’s a Team Member  11 

Service Trips  12 

Language Immersion Trips  13 

Exchange Trips  14 

Staff Resources  15 

How to Choose Staff Members for Your  16 

Trip 

How to Follow Through and Stay  17 

Motivated 

Equity  18-19 

7 Rules for Lottery  20 

Traveler Versus Tourist  21-23 

Administration Pitch  24 

2
 How to Make a Pitch  25-26 

How to Pitch to Parents  27-28 

Picking a Reliable Organization  29 

Some Reliable Organizations  30 

D.tech Rules and Requirements  31-33 

Travel Fair (How to Pitch at Travel Fair)  34 

Group Meetings  35 

Communication with Organizations  36 

VORDD and VONRA  37 

Travel Program Community  38 

D.lab Requirements  39-41 

Fundraising  42-45 

Big Fundraiser  46 

Importance of Passion  47 

Student Stories  48 

FAQs  49-50 

Travel Program Goals  51 

Travel Program Legacy and Next Steps  52 

Check List  53 

 
 
 
 
 

3
 Introduction 
 
Welcome to the Design Tech High School Travel Program Guide Book! This is 
a compilation of resources and information you’ll need for planning a trip through 
d.tech. Planning a trip via d.tech is a lot different than planning a typical vacation, so 
don’t underestimate the insanity. It’s important to stay positive and push through the 
frustration which will hopefully build resilience and drive in you. This is actually the 
main purpose of the guidebook, to help direct through all of the obstacles so you 
can plan a trip as efficient and meaningful as possible. This will be achieved through 
not just the guidebook, but by mentorships with upperclassmen, too. This book will 
take you through all of the twists and turns that are prevalent in each step of the 
two-year plan (the two year plan roughly outlines the trip planning process) and will 
hopefully help you conquer your goals and plan the most amazing trip that you can! 
 
 
In 2017 and 2018 there were two d.tech trips. One was an exchange trip to 
Puerto Rico and the other was a service trip to India. Each trip had around 12-14 
students who fundraised the money to make their trips happen. The students that 
went on the India and Puerto Rico trips are incredibly passionate about travel and 
making travel accessible to every student at d.tech. Over the past few months, 
Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors have been working to create a travel program 
where any student can have access to travel. ​when this book was put together, in 
the winter of 2019 ​students from the Puerto Rico trip were focusing on building an 
exchange program with a school in Puerto Rico. Students from both trips have been 
taking on leadership roles as mentors for other students who are starting their trip 
planning process. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

4
 Two Year Plan 
( Disclaimer! This is just an outline of what you should do to plan a trip and it 
might take shorter or longer than two years depending on your trip and situation) 
 
Year 1  
 
1. What's the Impact You Want to Make? 
- On yourself?  
- The students going on your trip?  
- For your school? 
- On the world? 
- What do you want to bring home? 
- What's the impact of your trip?  
2. Where Do You Want to Go?  
- Choosing a place based on interests and impact plan. 
3. Empathy and Initial Research 
- Reach out and talk to core members of the Travel Program 
- Work with them to figure out the purpose and steps to get started 
- Read through policies and ask questions to clarify confusion 
4. Figure out who will be your Core Members (2-4 students)  
- These students would be taking on leadership roles throughout the 
entire trip planning process. 
- These are the people who will be working hard to make everything 
happen. They delegate tasks to the rest of the group and are in charge 
of communication. They also are the ones making sure that things get 
done efficiently and on time. 
- They will act as motivators for the rest of the group, 
- They are usually the students who come up with the initial idea and 
location (so it's their job to get people motivated and interested in their 
trip). 
5. Creating a Sample Itinerary  
- Build the schedule for your trip and come up with activities and ideas 
- Create a day by day schedule in chronological order. 
- Create 3 itineraries 
- One from scratch (doing your own research not with an 
organization) 
- Two other itineraries from two different reliable organizations 
- You will present all three when you are pitching to admin 

5
 - Make as many prototypes as needed and try to plan an impactful trip 
that your core group feels passionate about. 
6. Choosing Reliable Organizations 
- They work with you to create your ideal itinerary and help personalize it 
in order to make the impact your group is passionate about. 
- Rustic Pathways is a reliable organization. 
- International Volunteer HQ is also a reliable organization but does not 
have as much flexibility in their itineraries. 
- To get new organizations approved might take a bit more work and 
time but might be completely worth it if it provides you with the 
resources to make your ideal trip happen. 
7. Picking Potential Teachers  
- Choose teachers who are passionate about your particular trip and who 
are good resources for helping you with the trip you’re creating. 
- Make sure they are really invested in your project, that they can 
communicate with your core group, and that they can set up meetings 
to hash out details. 
- Establish a teacher email and role list on page:  
- When discussing with your group don't firmly persuade, but instead 
ask mentors about best teacher fit. 
- The mission of the trip should align with teachers’ values. 
8. Making Your First Pitch  
- Talk to Travel Program to set up your first pitch 
- Present a sample pitch to Travel Program and make changes to pitch 
accordingly 
- You will pitch in front of admin and they will give you feedback and 
help you move forward on your trip (You might get a no or a come 
back in a few weeks but remember that's only to help improve your 
trip) 
9. Travel Fair and Advertisement 
- Each group will have a booth at the Travel Fair where they and their 
mentors will be leading a booth. 
- There will be flyers/pamphlets containing information about their trip, 
and have semi set itineraries. 
- This will hopefully help people gain excitement about the trips and 
travel program.  
- People will all have opportunities to sign up to get more information 
about whatever trip they're interested in. 
10. Parent Travel Info Meeting 

6
 - Before this point you may have brought up the idea of a trip to your 
parents, but now they get a chance to see that you are serious about 
this adventure. 
- This is a meeting where the parents of everyone who’s interested in the 
trip will have the chance to go and get a bunch of general information 
about the trip. 
- You will present all of the information that parents should know about 
your trip and then open up the floor for questions. 
- This should happen before an actual group is chosen for the trip. 
11. Finalizing Group and Communicating with Parents (Lottery if Needed)  
- If too many students sign up for your trip, then you need an equitable 
way to figure out your finale group. 
- You may want to establish a lottery system run by your teacher 
mentor. 
12. Following Through with Organization and Finalizing Itinerary 
- Combine your rough itinerary with your organization’s suggested 
itinerary to create a unique but also safe trip. 
- Tell your organization that you have the final group and that you’re 
ready to move forward. 
13. Further Research with Group, Starting Gofundme’s, and creating Mission 
Statements for Gofundme’s 
- Establish a final cut off date for dropping out. 
- Make sure that all parents are completely on board. 
14. First Parent Pitch/Meeting (with final group) 
- Explain full itinerary in detail and go through all important logistics. 
- Answer any safety concerns or other questions. 
- Set up first payment with organization. 
15. Plan for Summer and Year Two 
- Keep contact frequent with organization, mentors, cores, and other 
team members. 
- Start figuring out next steps for the upcoming year. 
- Start planning and conducting fundraisers. 
- Write real plan and goals for what the summer will look like, when the 
team will meet, and what fundraising everyone is expected to have 
completed by the start of school. 
 
 
 
 

7
 
 
 
 
Year 2  
 
1. Plan for Large Fundraiser 
- Delegate jobs amongst your team. (Travel Program core team will give 
out larger jobs, which you can delegate within your group. 
- Figure out how much everyone needs to fundraise. 
- Communicate with other trips to figure out what they’re working on. 
2. Working on Grants and Partnerships (optional) 
- Start reaching out to potential sponsors. 
- Begin writing drafts of grant. 
- Get help from mentors and teacher mentors. 
3. Host One Large Fundraising Event 
- Make sure everything is organized and ready for fundraiser. 
- Check in with each team member to make sure they are almost done 
or done with their part of the fundraiser. 
4. Final Important Details 
- Make final payments. 
- Ensure that everyone has visas. 
- Make sure everyone has gone to their clinic and received the doctor 
recommended shots. 
- Make sure everyone has up to date passports. 
5. Bonding with Group  
- Spend some time together as a group and get to know each other 
better. 
- Schedule some fun activities (beach day, city adventure, park picnic, 
movie night, etc.) 
- A tight knit group helps make the experience even better. 
6. Final/Other 
- Address any final questions. 
- Facilitate a packing list discussion or stage a packing party. 
- If Rustic: Make sure that a person from the organization comes to 
school and has a meeting to answer any lingering questions or address 
any concerns. 
 
7. Go on Trip at the End of Sophomore Year or at the Beginning of Junior Year! 

8
  

What’s a Mentor? 
 
A mentor is an upperclassman who already has travel experience or is 
interested in travel. They will have some sort of understanding of the two year travel 
program plan and be passionate in helping other students have meaningful travel 
experiences. They are students who can guide you in the right direction when a 
group is lost in the planning process of their trip. They also should be the ones 
keeping the core members of the group motivated and on track and helping with 
communication between core members and administration. Communication is 
really complicated when planning a trip and the mentor can help make sure that 
people are on the same page and that core members are keeping everyone in the 
loop. A mentor is also responsible for reminding students of deadlines, whether 
that's for pitches or payments, and they can help plan core and team member 
meetings. It's also important for mentors to give students inspiration and motivation 
for following through with their trips and being the person that they can go to for 
support when the planning process gets tedious or insanity ensues.  
 
 

What’s a Teacher Mentor? 

 
The role of a teacher mentor is very important in the success and organization 
of a trip group. A teacher mentor is a staff member chosen by the students to help 
organize fundraisers, organize regular check in meetings with the team, and make 
sure that the students meet deadlines. They also help encourage the students to 
stand up for themselves and work comfortably with core travel program members 
and administrators. They can also help look over pitches to make sure they cover all 
of the bases and are informative and well researched. On top of that, which is 
incredibly important, the teacher mentors discuss fundraising, financial concerns, 
and any other worries that students might have one on one so core members don’t 
have to. It isn’t acceptable for core members to bring up and discuss financial 
matters one on one or in a group setting because they are still peers with the other 
group members. So in a nutshell teacher mentors are there to help encourage core 
members to lead confidently while also facilitating, making sure everything is on 
track and organized. 
 
 

9
  
 
 

What's a Core Member?  

 
A core member is a someone (most likely a Freshman) who leads a travel 
group. They should be the ones who take responsibility for their group or any 
actions of the group. Core members are the main communicators and are 
responsible for making sure that they are communicating properly and efficiently 
with their group mentors and the team members on their trip. Core members are 
also in charge of figuring out the main impact and goals of their trip and they have to 
make sure those things are achieved. They are in charge of any pitches that the trip 
has to do, logistics and itinerary. But the main purpose and most important job of the 
core members is keeping their team members motivated throughout the entire 
planning and trip process. You are a support system for your team and when you 
need support you can look to your fellow core members. You would be taking on a 
leadership role, and with that comes a time and energy commitment. As a core 
member you should be passionate about the trip that you’re creating and be willing 
to sacrifice some of your sanity for the benefit of your project.  
 
 

How Do I Choose Core Members for My 

Trip?  
 
It's important to find people who you can work efficiently and cooperatively 
with for extensive periods of time. Amazing traits for this type of work are motivation, 
dedication, collaboration, work ethic, common goals, similar interests, leadership, 
empathy, and attentiveness. These skills end up being incredibly valuable because 
without at least a handful of them people can lose interest and motivation in the 
project, leaving you high and dry. 
 
 
 
 
 
 

10
 
 

What's a Team Member?  

 
A team member is any student who has an interest or desire to travel. A team 
member could be a student who's been traveling their whole lives to a student who 
has never left the country. There are no requirements to be a team member, but you 
should be passionate about the mission of the trip you are a part of. As a team 
member you should have some time to help with fundraising and any work 
necessary to make the trip happen. You should want to be a part of a team and be 
willing to put in the time and energy necessary to support your group. As a team 
member you should motivate other team members. You should be someone who is 
seeking new experiences and has an open mind about different cultures and 
people. Having passion for you trip and a “why not” attitude always helps. You can 
bring your own unique skills and interests to the group and really contribute to your 
fellow students travel experience. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

11
 

Service Trips 
 
A service trip should be a group of students that plan a trip with a mission to 
help and are passionate about making an impact on the world around them. When 
conducting a service trip you should choose a project or mission to help. It could be 
something to do with education, clean water, health, building structures or any 
project that helps the community. A service trip can take place in a nearby 
community or all the way across the world. When choosing what service project you 
should work on you should think about what you’re passionate about and what type 
of impact you want to make. Also making sure that you get a team with the same 
passion for your mission is important for the success of your trip. When creating a 
service trip it is important to empathize with the people and the community that you 
are going to be supporting. Make sure to not go into the situation with the mindset 
of having more knowledge and resources as them, but rather with an open mindset 
and willingness to help. Just because you might have more privilege than the 
people you are helping doesn’t mean you know the correct way to help them. You 
are equals with everyone that you are helping and partnering with, so be an 
educated mindful traveler not an ignorant tourist. Sometimes tourism and service 
based travel has more of a negative impact then positive effect on the community. 
You could think you’re doing good but could actually be making the opposite 
impact. That's why it is so important to do thorough research on the place that you 
are going before going on your trip. When you’re on a service trip, connecting with 
the people in the community that you are supporting is an important part of your 
service experience. It helps you further connect to the culture and empathize with 
the people in the communities where you’re doing your service work. This can help 
your group get more invested and pasisoante about the work that you’re doing 
because you have real bonds and connections to the community. Homestays can 
definitely enhance your service project experience because you can develop more 
empathy for the community and people that you’re working with. This is one of the 
reasons why we suggest planning trips with a homestay experience. It also allows 
you to create lasting connections in different countries where future trips could 
potentially go back and maintain that relationship and continue to make an impact in 
that community.  
 
 
 

12
 Language Immersion Trips  
 
For a language immersion trip you would travel to a place where they don’t 
speak your language. Along with learning a new language or enhancing your skills in 
a language you are immersing yourself in a different culture. An immersion trip can 
enhance your education and be a transformational travel experience. On immersion 
trips you can plan unique experiences that really give you a sense of the culture. 
Homestays are always encouraged for cultural immersion and better learning of the 
language. If you stay in a hotel or hostel you are less likely to speak in the language 
you are trying to learn, if you are interacting with your homestay family and 
communicating with them in their language that will help you learn a lot more. 
Homestays can definitely enhance your experience in a new place, as you can get a 
better feel for how life actually works there. Another aspect of a language 
immersion trip is that you are connecting with other people with different 
backgrounds and cultures. This is the same for service trips, but you should be 
educated on the communities and issues in the country that you’re visiting. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
13
 Exchange Trips 
 
What is an Exchange Trip? 
An exchange trip is any trip planned with the intention of bringing other 
schools’ students back to d.tech. It’s different because with service or language 
immersion you can be reaching out to any community (within reason) but with 
exchange you are reaching out to students specifically.  
 
What makes an Exchange Trip different as far as planning? 
An exchange trip is a little different than service or immersion because it adds 
a new dimension of attention to detail. It’s a much bigger collaboration because 
there needs to be consistent communication with the other half of the trip (where 
you are going). Open communication is very important because both schools need 
to be on the same page as far as schedules, logistics, finances, and more. It’s not 
necessary but is strategic to dedicate part of your trip to working with the school to 
discuss the logistics of the other student’s trip.  
 
Things to keep in mind: 
Some questions that are important to remember when planning an exchange 
trip: Where will the students stay? (host families, hotels/inns, etc.) 
If students host: will they get to go on the trip? Will they stay with who they host? 
In school: will they shadow, take classes together, independently, with a buddy…? 
 
Puerto Rico Example: 
The Puerto Rico exchange trip is the first successful exchange at d.tech. 
Students reached out to a school in Puerto Rico with their idea and the school 
responded positively. From there they planned out schedules and logistics.  
 
 
 
 
 
 

14
 Staff resources 
 
Melissa Mizel - ​mmizel@d.techhs.org  
Job: Director of school 
Go to for: Approvals, questions, and fundraising 
 
Nicole Cerra - ​ncerra@d.techhs.org  
Job: Director of Learning 
Go to for: dlab approval and fundraising  
 
David Groat - ​dgroat@d.techhs.org  
Job: Math teacher 
Go to for: Support (reviewing pitches, feedback) 
 
Ken Montgomery - ​kmontgomery@d.techhs.org  
Job: Executive director 
Go to for: Final approval of trip  
 
Hanan Holloway - ​hholloway@d.techhs.org  
Job: Business Manager  
Go to them for: Anything to do with money/ fundraiser or planning school wide 
events. Fundraising (pitch, questions, criteria, possibilities) 
 
Henry Lonnemann - ​hlonnemann@d.techhs.org  
Job: Director of School Culture 
Go to for: approval and information 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

15
 How to Choose Staff Members  
for Your Trip 
 
Choosing a good staff member is important to having a successful and 
efficient trip. You need to make sure the staff member you choose has the 
bandwidth and the time to help you with the trip. They need to be truly passionate 
about what your trip is focused on, and they need to be able to go on the trip. Ideally 
two staff members go on each trip, or more or fewer depending on the size of the 
group. With some organizations, chaperones may be free to come on the trip, Rustic 
Pathways is an example of this -- they don’t charge adults if they are accompanying 
and taking care of a group of students. They don’t have to have traveled before, but 
obviously they need to be comfortable taking a group of students somewhere, and 
being responsible for what they need and what they students need before, and 
during the trip. Being a staff member working on a trip is a large time and energy 
commitment, as I’m sure anyone who has taken kids on a field trip would attest to. 
The commitments increase with domestic and international travel in conjunction 
with a school program.  
 
Staff members on the trips aren’t teachers, or administration , they are 
partaking in the same trip you are, they will be there for support, and in some 
programs they will be leading alongside the leaders from your organization. They 
will be working with you on whatever you are doing. Yes they will be in positions of 
authority, but they are also travelers, d.tech representatives, and passionate people 
with you. This may be the first time they have gone on this kind of trip. Everyone 
needs to rely on each other, have a shared goal, and gain as much as possible from 
the experience. 
 
Something that may be blindingly obvious to some, but boggled the minds of 
the first core group of the travel program, is that not all the trips can go at the same 
time, for the very simple reason that… we need teachers at the school. If there are 
5-10 trips, that is at most 20 teachers off campus, on these trips, that leaves very few 
to do the whole teaching and running the school thing… oops. So when planning a 
trip, you need to think about when you’re going and coordinate with other groups.  
 

16
 How to Follow Through and Stay 
Motivated During Planning 
 
One thing you will find along the way is yourself dragging your feet and 
banging your head against the wall. But here are some methods to help you not 
give up and/or go insane. 
 
1. Keep a constant log of all your goals. This will be scary to look at but will help 
you know exactly when you need to do something and when you need to 
have it done by. 
2. Maintain  constant communication with everyone. Ask your mentors what your 
next  steps are, and ask other people how they want to help, lean on everyone 
around  you  so  that  you  can  stay  up  to  date,  and  know  exactly  what 
everyone's  tasks  are,  and  when  they  need  to  have  them  done  by.  Keep 
checking  in  with  everyone  while  they  are  doing  those,  and  ask  if  they  need 
any help. 
3. Have weekly, or bi-weekly meetings with the group, with your teachers, and 
mentors. This will take some time, and be a little tedious but it will really help 
people communicate better and know what they need to do if they are 
confused, or worried about anything. These can be on lab days, or 15 min. 
check ins at lunch 
 
● These meetings should be fun, if they aren’t, people won’t come and they will 
turn from a casual meeting to a task. 
● Have fun graphics on posters and slides, and make sure the meetings have a 
purpose while still being enjoyable. 
● Don’t get wrapped up in particulars, that’s what lab days are for, give the big 
picture goals until the next meeting, and check in with how people are doing. 
You need to make sure you have an end goal, something that keeps 
everyone in the group united in one common shared passion. 
○ This should be made at the start of the planning the trip, so you have it 
in the back of your minds throughout this whole hard process. 
○ It should also be wrapped in your mission statement, so it is really 
clear what you want to accomplish in your trip, whatever that may be. 

 
17
 Equity 
 
What is Equity? 
Equity, in definition, is the quality of being fair and impartial. A main goal of the 
travel program is to maintain equal opportunity for everyone, no matter your 
financial status. Your parents aren’t going to pay for your expeditions, ​so don’t worry 
about not being able to afford the trip. ​Our goal is to have each trip fundraise most, if 
not all of its money through fundraisers such as GoFundMe’s and potentially a big 
school based travel fundraiser whose funds will be equally distributed amongst the 
trips. Some students also got jobs to help support themselves for the trip which was 
very effective in helping reach fundraising goals on time. 
 
 
Lottery 
Lotteries are equitable methods of choosing how people get into the trip. It’s 
important to know how the team members are chosen, but this is primarily taken 
care of by your teacher mentor, therefore not something you need to focus on. Each 
student will get their name put in the same amount of time as everyone else, unless 
they fill out the Ten Hour Service Sheet (in which they get their name put in the 
generator more times), which will be explained more below. 
 
 
Ten Hour Service Sheet 
The Ten Hour Service Sheet is an equitable method of gaining priority in the 
raffle. This sheet will be given out to all people interested in the trip in order to prove 
your interest and devotion to getting in. The Ten Hour Service sheet is pretty self 
explanatory -- it’s a sheet you can fill out by going out of your way to do service 
work prior to the trip. 
 
 
Travel Fair 
The travel fair helps promote equal opportunity because it gives everyone a 
chance to sign up for whatever trip they’re interested in. It allows everyone to have 
access to the same information at the same time by allowing them to walk around 
and see every potential trip, asses their interest level, and sign up if they want to. 
Also, if you sign up and there isn’t an overflow of people signed up by the cut off 
date, then you automatically get in. If there are too many people signed up for the 
trip though, there would be a lottery. 

18
 
 
Money 
“Money” is a word that tends to scare people off immediately and cause them 
to dismiss your whole plan/project/trip right off the bat. People also often get 
frightened right away by the term “travel” because they automatically assume they 
cannot afford it. We want everyone to be fully aware of the fact that you do not 
need to pay for the trip with money from your parents. As was mentioned before, 
the money should be fundraised or earned through working, so everyone has an 
equal chance financially. Also, this is a team effort. If one student falls behind and 
could potentially not make a deadline, support each other. Let’s say that you are 
$1,000 short on money for your trip. If one of your fellow team members got extra 
money and has passed their goal, then they can help you out by giving you some 
extra money. If you can’t reach fundraising deadlines you can always ask for help 
from fellow team members through loans or extra money. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

19
 7 Rules for Lottery 
 
Starting Point: 
- Each student who has signed up to be in the lottery starts with one lottery 
ticket. 
 
How Additional Lottery Tickets Will Work: 
- If the student has not participated in a d.tech trip, they are given one extra 
lottery ticket in the lottery. 
- If the student has participated in a d.tech trip, subtract two lottery tickets. 
- If the student is currently a Junior (school year 2018-2019), they are given two 
extra lottery tickets in the lottery. 
- This is to give priority to juniors, since they will be seniors next school 
year, and it will be their last year at dtech.  
- If the student is a Sophomore (school year 2018-2019), they are given one 
extra lottery ticket in the lottery.  
- This is to give priority to sophomores, since they will be juniors next 
school year, and it will be their second to last year at dtech.  
- If the student has completed four hours of service work during February 1-8, 
they are given one extra lottery ticket. Every additional four hours of service 
work is an additional lottery ticket.  
- See ​Completing Service Hours for Fiji​ doc for more information.  
- If one person who’s been on a trip already gets in and one person who hasn't 
is waitlisted they flip flop places to prioritize person who hasn't gone 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

20
 Traveler Versus Tourist 
 
A Tourist Sticks Out and a Traveler Blends in 
Tourists walk around with selfie sticks and tend to draw (sometimes negative) 
attention to themselves. A traveler tries their best to blend in with the locals. They 
look like they know where they are going (even if they don’t), they dress 
respectfully, and they try their best to respect the social norms of where they are. 
Travelers come into a new situation with a curious and educated perspective.   
 
A Tourist Eats Comfort Food; a Traveler Tries out the Local Cuisine 
A tourist will only stick to foods that they are familiar with, which sometimes 
includes popular food chains. A traveler knows that food is the link to any culture. 
They are willing to step out of their comfort zone to try out local dishes in order to 
taste the country’s culture. Staying in your comfort zone is not the point of travel. 
(This doesn’t mean doing anything that would make you uncomfortable but just that 
it's important to test your limits when traveling, you will get a lot more out of the 
experience if you do. 
 
A Tourist Sight Sees; a Traveler converses with Locals 
A tourist stays within their comfort zone and only sticks with seeing the main, 
popular sights. They don’t really make an effort to go out and meet people except 
those who they are traveling with. A traveler makes an effort to meet people from all 
over. They try to talk with locals, find out the best (secret) things the city has to offer, 
or discover unique stories that you can’t find in travel books. Travelers know that 
locals are the best resource to use when exploring somewhere new. 
 
Tourist Stick to their Native Tongue; Travelers Make an Attempt to Learn the 
Local Language 
Tourists will only speak their native tongue and make very little (if any at all) 
effort to learn the local language. Travelers make an attempt to know at least a few 
key words or phrases to use when traveling abroad. They know that learning how to 
say simple things like “please”, “thank you”, and “hello” make much more of a 
difference when traveling in a country that speaks a different language. 
 
 
 
 

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Sample Itinerary  
Creating your itinerary is all about customizing it to make an impact and fulfill 
the goals of your trip. You’ll want to do plenty of research prior to even making the 
sample itinerary. You can learn about the culture, environment, customs, 
community, landmarks, history, and more. You can then find activities and plan days 
with that information in mind. Proving that you’ve researched a lot is important for 
convincing the administration istration of your dedication and knowledge during 
your pitch. Having a solid amount of knowledge on the area you’re staying in is not 
just important for planning activities, but important for staying safe as well. You need 
to know and understand your place as a tourist and respect the community you’re 
in. You are entering the homes and communities of people with different cultures 
and customs. It’s really important to treat them with respect based on ​THEIR 
definition of respect, not yours. Hopefully, the organization you choose will be open 
to customizing and creating the trip with you. If they are you can work together to 
make the best trip possible for your group. You can take suggestions of activities 
and types of service work (if you want to) from both the organization and your fellow 
team members. It also helps to mention either each meal of the day or the times of 
each activity in your itinerary just to get an idea of when each activity is going to take 
place. Your sample itinerary should consist of a rough day by day lay out of activities 
that you’re going to be doing, in chronological order. 
 
Ulterior Motives?  
Planning a trip takes a lot of dedication and hard work but that motivation 
should not come from any type of ulterior motive. Planning a service, immersion or 
exchange trip would definitely look good on a resume for college applications but 
that should not be your core reason to plan a trip. It will be difficult to stay 
passionate throughout the planning process because if your not motivated by a 
genuine desire to make a positive impact you will not have the amount of drive to 
complete the trip. For example if you are only motivated by ulterior motives that's 
basically going against the entire point a service trip. It's best if you start planning a 
trip with a genuine interest and desire to help and make an impact. (This all 
especially applies to Core Members) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Communication is the Key 
Communication is a key part of planning a trip, especially at d.tech. For the 
most part, the communication between the staff and students sucks but when your 
planning a trip you can’t let that get in your way. Utilize your email to communicate 
with your mentors, core members and team members. This especially goes for 
when your trying to communicate financial deadlines or when and where your 
meeting will be. The mentors can help communicate between core members and 
administration but the core members will definitely have the biggest 
communication job. Core should be communicating with their team members and 
sometimes even the parents to make sure that everyone is kept in the loop and 
there is no miscommunication or confusion. This is key for ensuring the success of 
your trip.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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 Administration Pitch 
 
Mission Statement 
For developing a pitch one of the fundamental features that determine the 
success of the pitch is the mission statement. A mission statement is a short 
passage stating the purpose of your program/trip, the goal of your operation, and 
the impact you want to make. An example of a mission statement is the travel 
program mission statement which says that its goal is: “To give students equal 
opportunities to experience transformation by immersing themselves in other 
cultures through exchange and service.” Make sure to keep your mission statement 
short, sweet, and concise so it maintains the attention of the staff you’re pitching to. 
Express what this trip means to you and your team and make your true passion 
apparent.  
 
Your mission statement is basically going to guide the trajectory of your trip and 
experience your going to build. In your pitch, whether it's to admin or your parents 
you can always lead with your mission statement so that your goals are loud and 
clear and to show that your always leading with purpose.  
 
Solid Plan and Information 
An incredibly important part of your pitch is making yourself sound like you 
know what you’re talking about. Your general plan should be really solid, safe, 
realistic, and passionate by the time you present it to staff members. If you don’t 
truly know what you’re talking about, they won’t take you as seriously. A general 
plan should consist of a sample itinerary, alternative ways to get d.lab credit, a core 
team, potential teacher chaperones, a main goal, a solid mission statement, a 
reliable organization, and plenty of research. What is the impact you want to have 
on yourselves, on your peers, on the school, and on the world? 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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How to Make a Pitch 

 
This is how the pitch will work… 
 
Once you and your core team feel like you have done a sufficient amount of 
research and have a solid mission statement communicate to Travel Program that 
your ready to start working on your pitch. Then we, along with mentors, will guide 
you in the right direction and help create your pitch. Then we will schedule a date to 
pitch your trip to Mellisa and usually a few other staff members to get feedback and 
next steps for your project. (They might not give you an instant yes but that is okay 
and happens to everyone. This is not about instant gratification and it's gonna be a 
long process with a lot of ups downs and lessons but that's part of the reason of 
why it's worth it.) Then you’ll probably go back to the drawing boards and figure out 
what needs to be fixed and worked on before your next pitch and then you’ll set up 
the next date for your pitch and present. But you might be asking yourself, what 
exactly am I pitching? What will be in our pitch?... 
 
There will be three main ideas/ itineraries that you will be presenting in your pitch: 
 
1. One itinerary will be a trip that has already been created by a reliable 
organization that d.tech has already partnered with in the past. This trip 
should align with your mission statement and support the impact that your 
trying to make. Do some research on the service project or program that this 
organization works with, understand what they are doing and why they are 
doing it. Make sure that the service project is sustainable and if you don’t 
know whether it is or not ask one of us from travel program. We want to do 
our best as a travel program to practice sustainable tourism and develop a 
better understanding on what that means and how to participate in it.  
 
2. The second itinerary should be with a new organization that you want to 
partner with for the betterment of Travel program and the school. Make sure 
that you work alongside this company to create the trip that you want to 
create. Be prepared to explain what this organization does and why, how 
does it practice sustainable tourism and why you think a partnership with 
them would improve your trip, the future of the school and the organization 
itself.   
 

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 3. Last but not at all least, present an itinerary that you solely planned as a 
group. Do a bunch of research, find the cheapest but safest plain tickets, call 
numerous organizations and see which one fits your mission the best. Call 
different hostels and hotels and do research on the best places to stay in the 
towns you’re staying in. Do research on local cuisine, local customs and 
language. Maybe even when your calling to ask questions speak in their 
native language! Present a fully planned itinerary at your pitch that is 100% 
your group and what you want in a trip. If you think that the trip that you 
planned best supports your mission statement all you have to think about is 
safety and reliability. That can all be worked out, so if this is the route you 
decide to take please come talk to Travel program and we are more than 
happy to help you problem solve and figure out a third party to insure safety 
on your trip. Make sure to do this step because even if this isn't the itinerary 
that gets chosen in the end it's so important to know how to do the research 
and have information about the place your visiting and that you are 
developing communication skills.  
 
After you have presented all three itineraries your job is to argue to the admin 
why one out of the three trips is the one that you choose, and why it best supports 
your mission statement. Then have a back and forth conversation about which 
itinerary the admin and your team think is best so that you can have next steps to 
work on and a direction to go in.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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How to Pitch to Parents 
 
Meeting Prior to Selection 
Before the team members are chosen you’ll likely want to put on a meeting 
for the parents of all the students that are interested in the trip. This will help the 
parents understand the trip and it’s details so they can potentially decide in advance 
whether they’re okay with letting their child go on the trip or not. Also, parents tend 
to get confused and a bit worried when their child walks up to them and states, 
“Hey! I want to go to ____ !” without much context or information besides that. It’ll 
help inform the parents that this trip is actually happening and give them more 
information to ensure their comfort (or discomfort) around the whole plan. 
 
How to Present 
Without approval from the parents of the students going on the trip, your trip 
simply can’t happen. That’s why it’s incredibly important to come off as professional, 
put together/organized, and knowledgeable. You need to know what you’re talking 
about and be confident in your answers, because if you aren’t it may make the 
parents feel on edge. You’re bringing these students into new landscapes where 
potentially dangerous situations can arise. You want to make sure the parents can 
trust you to plan a safe and secure trip. If anything goes wrong they want to feel like 
the issue can be handled quickly, strategically, and safely. If you show pure 
confidence in your project then they’ll feel like they can relax a bit as well. 
 
What to Include in Slide Show 
You’re going to want to make sure you have all the essential information 
covered solidly in your slide show. This includes information about your 
organization, visas, dates, locations, transportation, airfare, trip cost, extra costs, 
fundraising, activities you’ll be doing there, impact you’ll make on the community, 
motivation/inspiration for trip, a full day by day itinerary, and more. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Be Prepared for Questions 
The parents will likely have A LOT of questions surrounding the trip, it’s 
details, and it’s safety. So know what you’re talking about and have a firm grasp on 
the logistics and details about the trip. Typically you’ll hear the same questions 
asked quite a few times so a strategy to show your confidence is to give them an 
above a beyond answer to their question. Answer their questions not with just a 
short answer, but instead give a whole answer with reasons behind your response 
and detail about the whole idea around the topic they’re asking about. 
 
Meeting After Selection 
After your group is selected, you'll want to repeat this information since likely 
not everyone will have shown up to the meeting prior to selection and also people 
forget things. You’ll want to go into more detail about the plans for the trip. You’ll 
want the group to begin bonding not just between students, but between the 
parents as well. Maybe conduct some fun bonding activities and brainstorming 
sessions to get input on the trip, get to know each other, and understand the 
emotions surrounding the expedition. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 

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Picking a Reliable Organization 
 
Rustic pathways is a reliable organization and they work with you to create 
your ideal itinerary personalized to the impact your group wants to make. To get 
new organizations approved might take a bit more work and time but might be 
completely worth it if it provides you with the resources to make your ideal trip 
happen 
 
Or you could create a trip completely on your own. If this is the case make 
sure to include (safety procedures, someone who speaks the language, minor and 
major logistics and just a lot more general research about the countries safety and 
what you might need to watch out for. This will also be much harder to get 
approved, but will give you so much freedom to do what you really want to do and 
make an impact. 
 
When choosing a reliable organization you also need to make sure they are 
doing real good in the community if it is a service trip, there is a problem with 
service tourism having more of a negative impact on the people you are in the 
communities of, and you need to really do your research and make sure they aren’t 
hurting the area or community you’re in, and you’re time, money, and effort will be 
useful for the organization you’re going with. The work you are trying to do on a 
service trip, should last, should have a positive, lasting impact on the world, not just 
in and out, possibly hurting the people you are trying to help more than helping 
them. 
 
Safety of the students is probably the schools biggest concern, they want 
students to be safe. It is important to look into the organization, and not just look at 
their website, but also research them in a way that gets other people's opinions and 
reviews of the organisation, and the program you want to do with them. The school 
will ask if they are safe, communicate with people at the organisation, and make 
sure that it is a reliable program, but you should do even more. 
 
 
 

29
 
 
Some Reliable Organizations 
 
- Rustic Pathways  
- Rustic Pathways is expensive, but a wonderful experience with people 
who really care about you as a person and your development. They are 
a little more strict about their schedule and what you are going to do 
on the trip.  
- Where There Be Dragons  
- Where There Be Dragons is a more expensive more school oriented 
organization, they lead classes on where the trip is going, what the 
culture is like, and more history. The reason they are more expensive is 
because they are an amazing organization with wonderful leaders and 
trips 
- Global Travel Alliance  
- Travelocity Travel for Good Program 
- National Geographic Expeditions 
 
FYI, Even though we do want you guys to be safe and partner with reputable 
organizations we also want to put the emphasis on the benefits of learning how to plan 
and create your own itinerary that caitors directly to your mission as a group. Even if 
you do choose to go with one of the organizations listed above or make a partnership 
with a new one we strongly encourage you to co plan the trip with the organization so 
that you get the benefits and experiences from doing the work yourself.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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d.tech Rules and Requirements 

 
The amount of criteria when it comes to planning a trip through d.tech is 
insane. It will feel like they’re working against you to shut down your trip at any cost, 
but really they’re just trying to make you prove your passion for your creation. There 
are for starters a plethora of d.lab requirements (which are covered later in the d.lab 
section). 
 
Fundraising rules (see the whole section in the book.) 
Pure equity, all students need to have equal access to the trips and program, 
this is REALLY important for students and staff because this program is for the 
school, not for only some students. They want you to work really hard so they’ll try 
and push you to prove your knowledge and extent of detail for the plan. This will 
require a lot of research about the country you’re going to, and learning some of the 
language of the area you are going to. Your trip needs to be researched to an 
amazing extent, like think about what food you will be eating so no one gets sick on 
the trip, the organization you pick, you should be prepared for really over cautious 
parents asking a lot of questions. You need to show that you are “Design thinking” 
through the whole trip, and planning, and after, so you can have design lab credit.  
 
Be prepared for teachers and administration asking you any question 
possible, you should know more about your trip than you think you will need. You 
will have to work within the rules of d.tech, the travel program, and whatever branch 
of the program you are working in. This means a lot of restrictions, but it’s easier 
than it seems. Make sure you are super transparent about everything you do, 
document, catalog, anything you can so you can share resources and prove that 
you are doing what you aim to do, and it will be useful for showing what you have 
done, and that you’re really making progress. Getting approval will be a lot of work 
you’ll think is pointless, but it is a necessary part of everything working out and you 
having the time of your life. That may have been daunting, but the bottom line to all 
of that is that you need to think of the end goal, think about what you are trying to 
do, don’t give up, and be really versatile with what you are trying to get and how you 
are trying to get it, plans change, that will be something you’ll have to work with. 
 

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 Design Tech will need you to have a mission statement, I.E. a reason for 
going, what you are doing, how you will do it, and how you will prove that you’re 
design thinking along the way. D.lab requirement is a huge part of this, there is a 
rubric you can use to see if you’re plan will fulfil the requirements of the school so 
you can be a part of the travel program. You need to prove that you are going to be 
of use to the d.tech community, not just traveling, but changing the world for the 
better along the way, and not hurting the community you are going to. Working with 
staff is really important, use your mentors to do that, let them help you, they have 
been through all of this already, lean on them when you need them. One thing 
groups will experience is changing rules, d.tech rules are always changing, so the 
group must be willing to adapt and work within the confines of those rules. You 
might not get your way, but compromising is always an option, make sure you get to 
go on the trip even if you have to jump through hoops. This means a lot of working 
with, not around people, and understanding the rules you need to fulfil,  
 
You need to answer these questions to the administration  
1. How are you going to be influenced by this trip 
2. How will you bring back your experiences from the trip, and improve d.tech. 
3. How will you be practicing design thinking along the process of planning, 
going on, and after the trip is over. 
 
Core 
- Everyone needs to be on the same page, communication is key 
- Everyone needs to be motivated, and passionate about what you are going to 
do, they need to have a fire in their tummy that drives them to barf up the trip 
into the toilet of amazing experiences.  
- The team needs to work well together, you might not become friends but you 
will by the end of the trip, and if you are it will help everything go smoother. 
 
Team Members 
- You need to be PASSIONATE, if you aren’t passionate about something it 
won’t be fun, and you won’t want to accomplish the trip as much as you 
would if you were extremely passionate about it. 
- Travel fair, you’ll have a booth if you are core member group, use this to find 
other people, get them involved, and hopefully go on the trip. You should be 
energetic, excited, and knowledgeable about your trip 
- Send out interest surveys (Not too many or people won’t fill them out) to see 
what the team members want to do on the trip. 

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 - Make lists of everyone who is interested in going, follow up and gauge actual 
interest level of each person (So you don’t have people who are just there for 
their friend or to mess around) 
- Have meetings with the students who are really interested, and see if they 
would want to be a core member or what roles they are willing to take on. 
 
You need to be engaging, you need to sell the trip to people, make them 
know you’re serious. If they think you’re not they won’t be willing to do the trip or put 
their time into the program. If someone doesn’t seem like they want to go, it isn’t 
worth their time, or your time to work on the trip. It sucks but there will be some 
people whose passions aren’t aligned with yours, but will want to take advantage of 
the program you are a part of. Some people will do this with the idea of “looking 
good for college” or something like that. Those people might not be malicious but 
aren’t as motivated to help the cause you’re helping. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

33
  
Travel Fair  
The travel fair is a place where core members and mentors can present there 
trips to potential team members. Similarly to club fair, there will be multiple 
potential trips pitching there sample itinerary and mission to students. At the fair 
students will have the opportunity to sign up for one to two trips. During the fair 
each trip will be working on forming there group for their trip. The way that you 
present yourself at travel fair is important, because you want students with similar 
interests and an interest in what your trip is about. If too many students sign up for 
your trip then you can use a lottery system and form a waitlist is some students do 
not make the lottery. This can really be beneficial when figuring out your final group 
of students because sometimes people have to drop out. Weather that’s because of 
medical issues or lack of parent permission, it's always a good idea to have a waitlist 
if you can. Make sure that if students are dropping out of the group and other 
students are joining that you have some sort of a deadline where no further student 
can drop out of the trip or join. This is important when financial deadlines start to 
come up and students are putting down there fundraised money for the trip. Also 
when you are in the process of fundraising it's helpful to have a solid group of 
students who are dedicated to the trip. Everyone will be a lot more motivated and 
driven to fundraise and help out if they are definitely going on the trip.  

The whole point of travel fair, besides collecting your group, is making sure 
that everyone has an equal opportunity to travel. The fair insures that every student 
can explore there travel options and have the opportunity to sign up or plan for a 
trip. This aspect of the travel program is really important because travel should be 
accessible to everyone, no matter their financial situations or prior travel experience. 
Sometimes when people hear the word travel they automatically take themselves 
out of the equation, maybe because they never had the resources to travel or travel 
was just never available to them growing up. The point of the travel program is to 
change that, and make travel a pivotal part of everyone's development and 
education. Travel can give students the chance to experience different cultures and 
ways of life and hopefully develop a broader global perspective.  

At travel fair each team will have a booth where you can present where your 
trip is going, your sample itinerary and the mission of your trip. Each booth will have 

34
a sign-up sheet for your trip. You could even provide food at your booth from the 
culture of the place that you are traveling to. 

Group Meetings  
 
Frequent meetings and check-ins with your group are very important for 
keeping everyone on the same page. You can schedule them on lab days, lunches, 
or after school (if that works for your group). They’ll help everyone stay present in 
the planning process and aware of each others needs, concerns, feelings, and ideas. 
It’s really important to use this time as well to check up on how people’s fundraising 
is coming along and how close they are to meeting their deadlines and financial 
goals. In these meetings you can make announcements, remind people of 
upcoming deadlines, check in on progress, and bond more as a group. You can also 
use this time to get people excited and motivated about the trip and any upcoming 
events or deadlines. It’s sometimes tough to get everyone to show up to the 
meetings so you just need to make sure to remind the other team members and 
teachers numerous times in person, through email, and over text. 
 
Bonding With The Group 
Developing a tight knit group of students is essential to creating a life 
changing experience through the process of planning and going on the trip. You can 
set goals for the trip, share your excitement, express your concerns, and create an 
environment where everyone is on the same page about each other's feelings, 
opinions, and goals for the trip. One of the main activities that will bring everyone 
closer is putting on the fundraisers. That experience will help everyone learn to 
trust, support, and be there for eachother another. You can also schedule bonding 
activities outside of school such as beach days, movie nights and whatever fun 
activity that will get your group closer together (maybe even Soulcycle!). Even the 
meetings can be times where you can bond as a group. Your group can meet about 
what you need to meet about and then spend the rest of the time to just hang out 
and get to know one another. Bonding before the trip is great but when you get on 
the trip bonding with your group is pretty inevitable. Through your shared 
experiences and memories with the people going on your trips you create close 
bonds and friendships.  
 

35
 
Communication with Organization 
 
 
Communicating with the organization you’re going with will help you get the 
best trip you can have. Some groups may meet a representative in person, some 
may only speak on the phone with one until the actual trip. But being clear, 
following up, and making sure the org. communicates with you will be crucial parts 
of making the experience happen. Don’t be afraid to email the organization your 
working with with any questions you have about the trip, or any questions that the 
parents have about safety concerns about the trip. Once you send them your 
sample itinerary make sure that you communicate with them the type of 
experiences you want to have and what you need to get out of the trip. Explaining to 
your organization that impact your trying to make on your trip and your goals will 
help them help you create the experience that your group wants.  
 
How to Make Payments/Communication with Organizations 
Sometimes you don’t have all the funding you thought you would have 
collected by the deadline, or you know you won’t have the money in time. In this 
situation, it is completely okay, and you should; ask for an extension on the deadline 
for paying the organization. This being said, it does not mean you should 
procrastinate on getting funding, or think that you can push the deadline more than 
once, this just means you should be very open to communicating problems or 
concerns with the organization. To ask for an extension, just email, or call the person 
at the organization you have a working relationship with, let them know why you 
don’t have the money yet, and when you will have the money. Do this at long before 
the deadline as you can, so they are informed of the situation at hand, and can do 
whatever logistical things they need to so they can accommodate for the changing 
circumstances. 
In all communication with the organization, you need to be completely 
honest, nothing is helped by understating or changing the situation, whether it be 
concerning finance, student problems, parent concerns, school requirements, there 
MUST be complete transparency between the team and the organization at all 
times. They are here to help you have an amazing, life changing trip, and they need 
to know everything you know so they can do that to the best of their ability. 
 
 

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VORDD AND VONRA 
In a world of competition and creativity, it can be difficult to find the right 
resources to get your project started. There are some obstacles that seem 
impossible to overcome without specific help. The second you decide to go to the 
next level with your project you are exposed to VORDD.  
 
VORDD: Vulnerability, Opportunity, Rising Action, Desertion, Discomfort 
Now, to explain this I’m going to enter a scenario. You desperately want a car 
because you believe it will help you balance your social life and school. However, 
you don’t have the skills to drive or the money to buy one. In this vulnerable state, 
you have an idea with no resources to back you up. Luckily, your parents see you 
struggling and decide to help you out. They say: If you do the work, pass drivers ed 
and get a learners permit we will buy you a car. Now with this new opportunity, you 
have something to work towards and backup. In comes rising action: you spend 
hours and hours on driving tests and courses and begin getting ready for your 
driver's test. With all of this work you haven’t been spending time with your friends 
or focusing on school, but you know that all of your hard work will pay off when you 
finally get your new car. On the way to your final test, your mom admits that she 
didn’t believe you would get this far and isn’t fully committed to buying you a car. 
She has just deserted you. You tell her to turn the car around because you have 
decided not to go through with the final test. You now have the skill and no 
resources. Since you only focused on the process and left all of the planning to your 
parents, you are left with the same idea you had in the beginning and less 
motivation now that you have no support.  
This process is very easy to fall victim to, but there is also a simple way to avoid it, 
VONRA: Vulnerability, Opportunity, Notice, Reassess, Adapt 
In the scenario above, after your parents offer to buy you a car, rather than go 
straight into rising action, you would stop and use your Notice skills. Think about 
whether this is actually a realistic offer. Maybe do some research on how much cars 
cost, and talk to your parents further about the end result. Ask questions: how would 
we afford this? Would you really be able to buy me a car right after I pass my test? 
In this way, you could find out before you jump into doing all the work whether or 
not this is an achievable goal. In this scenario, your parents would have to admit that 
no, they did not really intend to buy you a car. So now, you reassess. Your end goal 
is still the same - to get a car - but you will have to find another way to do it. Come 
up with a new plan, or adapt to the new circumstances. Maybe you decide to get a 

37
job and start saving up for a car. Whatever you did choose, you were able to stop 
 
yourself before you fell victim to VORDD. 

Travel Program Community   

Not every trip for themselves 
 
In the travel program it shouldn’t be every trip for themselves, we are all 
working towards the same goal of travel. This means that we all need to be a sort of 
support system for each other, both financially, and in regards to making sure 
everyone has what they need to have a successful trip.  
 
Financially; this means that if your trip is fully funded, or has an excess of 
funds, your job for fundraising isn’t done, far from it. Your job now is to keep getting 
money, and if you are comfortable with it, giving money to other trips or to the travel 
program “pool” of funds, to be allocated to the trips that still need more funding. The 
large Travel Program Fundraiser will be a prime example of how all the groups, 
from all the branches must come together, and help the community achieve their 
goals, together. All members from all groups need to help with the fundraiser, and if 
they don’t they will not receive as much money as they would have if they had help 
more, and contributed more to the collective group. 
 
In regards to making sure everyone has what the need to have a successful 
trip, this really means checking in with other groups, talking, collaborating, and 
helping each other, and supporting the other groups if and when you can. This also 
includes emotional support, we will be honest here, the travel program is hard 
sometimes, and will be stressful sometimes, and realizing that other people are 
going through the same things can be a really powerful, and amazing thing to have, 
the self realization, and awareness, will be a very beneficial thing to implement into 
how you work with other people on the program. 

 
 
 
 

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D.lab Requirements  
 
Getting Design Lab approval requires every part of the design thinking 
process to be active in both the planning process of the trip and the trip itself. The 
requirements are all organized and displayed below. Design Lab credit is very 
crucial and is required in order to be able to go on your trip. If your trip doesn’t meet 
all of these categories then find ways to fit them into your trip and planning process. 
If fitting in some of the criteria is tough you can always ask your mentors for help 
figuring that out. When you pitch your trip for d.lab credit you’ll want to make sure 
you clearly display all of the criteria through numerous examples, confidence, and 
by explaining how the impact follows the design thinking process. 
 
Empathy:  Define:   Public Speaking  Vulnerability:  Cycle of 
Needed in..:   iterate/prototype
: 

Empathizing with  Identify people’s  Fair  Pitches  With failure of: 

other cultures  need on what  Pitches    Pitch (go back 
and needs of  place they are  Funding    and try again) 
others in different  going to?     
situations than     
yourself 
 

Using empathy  Make  Asking for Grants  Funding  Individual 

when  connections with  Asking for  fundraising (not 
researching  reliable  Donations  enough, go back 
places and  organizations    and try again) 
people you don’t    Fundraising 
know about yet,  restraints (persist) 
having an open   
mindset. (how 
can we help and 
be respectful) 

For the travel fair  Figuring out  Group Speaking  If things go  Changing the 
pitch, what would  safety on your  Don’t be shy  wrong  itinerary  
you want to know  trip and doing    Risky Situations→ 
about the trip?  research about    Unknown 
What type of  safety concerns   activities 
itinerary would 

39
 they want? What 
info do they 
need? 
 

 
For the parent  Get Funding?  “Be on your  Talking to people  Changing plans 
pitch, how to    Stretch Zone”  on trip   last minute 
reassure parents    (natural disasters, 
about safety and  figure it out 
explaining  quickly!) 
itinerary, putting   
yourself in the 
shoes of the 
parents, and 
making sure they 
have all the info 
they need to 
send their kids on 
one of the trips. 

Thinking about  Convince parents  Talk to people on  Weird and new  People not 
other students  that it is a good  the Trip  opportunities   following through 
financial  trip and let their  People not doing 
situations,  kids go?  their share of 
making sure that  work 
everyone has an  Mission 
equal opportunity  Statements 
to go on a trip.    

Putting yourself  Get the Staff On       

in other people’s  Board? 
situations.  Get students to 
create a group 
bond? 

 
Self Direction:   Ideate  Adaptability:   Reflection on  Portfolio Blog: 
(Brainstorm):  Team:  

Core Group   Where to go?  D.Tech Rules and  Bonding- Pre and  Photo essay 
How to pitch in a  Restrictions  on trip  Videos 
convincing way      Artifact share out 
to staff, students,   
and parents 
Goals and 
impacts 

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 Fundraiser   What to do  Restrictions for  One-On-One  Stories  
there?  Fundraising  conversations on   
Trip 

Publishing  Safe organization  Parent Concerns  Working together  What's the 

Yourself; Don’t be    to make things  impact? (On 
Melissa’s Friend’s  happen   yourself and on 
Son (Cooper)  the place you 
traveled to) 

  How to best  Cultural Adap     

convey trip at the  and Switching/ 
travel fai  Changing Plans 
Last Minute 

 
 
 
Portfolio Blog:  Story telling:  Leadership​:  Collaboration  Connect With 
  People Who 
can Provide 

Photo essay  POL  Core Group  Fundraising with  Grants, Partners 

Videos  Deliverable  (everything)  other groups   
Artifacts  (videos, photos,    Family 
Stories  stories, and visual  connections 
representa-   
tion)  D.tech Staff 
 
 

What's the impact?  Pitch for trip/  Mentor  Reaching out  People at your 
(On yourself and on  fundraising  Organization   
the place you  Mentoring/   
traveled to)  teacher  Peers 

  Impact report  Big fundraiser   Making decisions  Present Ideas to 

How you used  Emotional Help  at important  others:​Pitches 
design thinking to  Positive  moments with  for 
better the lives of  Reinforcement  organizations  administration 
others   Leading in  and student  
Service   
Logistical  Parent Pitch 
 
 

 
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Fundraising  
 
Having the money to go on your trip is REALLY important. Without it your trip 
will not happen. So you need to start getting money fast, even if you don’t have a 
trip planned, or finalized yet, you need to start your fundraising as soon as possible, 
so you can have all the money, and not need to worry later in the planning process, 
here are some of the methods past trips have used to make money, and finance 
their trip: 
 
Personal financing (Getting a job, your parents shouldn't pay for any of this) 
This eliminates the need to involve the school, getting rid of the regulations 
and restrictions that fundraising through Design Tech puts on you. In our experience 
it also creates a more laid back approach with less stress because you are in control 
of when you make money, and your own schedule. 
 
GoFundMe 
GoFundMe’s tend to have a more far reaching component to them, it is good 
if students can send the link to them out into their networks, or their parent’s 
networks, so that they can reach as many people as the can, who might be able to 
donate anything they have. 
 
Large fundraising event  
(This can not in any way conflict with the d.tech fundraiser. I.E. off campus, 
with mostly people not affiliated with the school, who wouldn’t have donated to the 
school already) this would be a large group event, that everyone works together to 
make happen. 
 
Going door to door  
This might sound stupid but you can make some good money doing this if 
you get your pitch down. Below there is a wonderful section prepared by Mr. Fenner 
on how to do this well. 
 
Bake sales off campus, 
This could be anywhere where it is legal to sell food, look into getting a 
permit to sell food, or go door to door. 

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Reach out to private organizations  
Asking for them to sponsor your trip, if you have a cause you are trying to 
empower, find someone who is doing the same, and ask for money from them. 
Asking friends/ extended family for money. (You can’t ask anyone directly involved 
with design tech because that may infringe on the Koi Pond. 
 
Fundraising will be hard, but it is how you will actually go on the trip, and do 
good in the communities you’re visiting, learn a new language, or partake in an 
exchange program; it is the backbone of traveling realistically, you can’t go if you're 
group hasn’t done the work so everyone can go, and everything is paid for. So make 
sure everyone is doing their part, having fun, and you reach your end goal. 
 
Fundraising rules 
Nothing on campus: bake sales, donation boxes, ​no money can come from 
other students unless from a large fundraiser, or through the koi pond.  
 
Students are not allowed to have their parents pay for the trip​, this is seen 
as taking money that would have gone to d.tech, and this isn’t something the travel 
program is allowed to do. All funding from large fundraisers will be distributed 
equitably in the groups, through need, money they already have, and type of trip, 
using a criteria that has been decided already, and that the staff will be in charge of. 
d.tech is a school, so you need to document any money given to the school for the 
travel program, so they have records of that money. D.tech being a school also 
means that they have very particular rules about what they can and can not do. 
Fundraising can be a nightmare at d.tech, but it will be how the trip actually 
functions, and you will be able to do anything you want if you have the funding, but 
keep in mind you are trying to make money for the whole travel program, not just 
you. Think of it as one large organism and you are a part of it, helping, but also 
working towards your own goal, your own trip, but everyone will work together to 
help everyone, and everyone will benefit from this comradery. (Yes we are socialists 
here in the travel program)  
 
GoFundMe’s, Getting a Job and door to door pitches  
Getting money for your trip is really important, and while we don’t ask you to 
pay any money, we do ask you to raise as much money as you can. Three previously 
successful methods for getting the money you need for the trip are getting a job, 

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going door to door and setting up a GoFundMe. Getting a job can be hard, but there 
are tons of resources around you to start making money and getting a head start on 
the trip finance. In the past GoFundMe’s have raised around half of the money on 
some trips. To make a good go fund me, you need to tell a personal story, make the 
reader WANT to help you, tell them why you are going on the trip, what travel 
means to you, and why you deserve to have someone give you money. Start with 
your mission statement, what drives you, how hard you have been working on the 
trip, and the reason you’re asking for money. Your story shouldn’t be that long, or 
someone will lose interest in reading the whole thing, it should be medium length, 
passionate, and personal. Some people's GoFundMe might not be as successful 
however; this is where jobs comes more into play. If you have a job it is a controlled, 
lasting income that you can easily calculate how much time you need to work so 
you can finance your trip. If you can’t find a job on your own, there are many sources 
to help teenagers get jobs, the probably won’t pay well, but they will work when 
making some money. Another Advantage to working is that, once you have gone on 
your trip, you will have an easy way to get money, (Plus having a job looks good for 
college applications). These are just two of the ways you can do your fundraising, 
but they are very successful, and reliable as methods to get the money you need on 
time.  
 
How to make a pitch for going door to door 
Create a "pitch" like the SAMPLE BELOW:  
 
(Background) When I (Mr. Fenner) used to knock on doors for a past job, I 
spent a bunch of time memorizing my pitch and practicing it to myself, so that I'd 
know how I look and sound. I even videotaped myself (I HATED watching it, since I 
hated hearing my own voice), and learned a lot from watching myself what I wanted 
to work on. When you practice, really try to notice how you are standing, what 
you're doing with your hands and head, and how you are saying things. Practice 
looking at the camera, to simulate being at someone's door and looking right at a 
person. 
 
Even better - practice "pitching" each other, and take turns being "difficult", or 
"resistant" potential donors. Be respectful of their decision to not help, if that's the 
case, but make sure you let them know that even small amounts will help you. 
 
(*Keep an eye out for "No Solicitors" signs at houses, and don't knock at those 
- some people get really angry if you ignore these signs.) 
 

44
 
SAMPLE PITCH 
Hi! My name is __________ and I'm a student at Design Tech High School, in 
Burlingame. 13 other students and I are planning a service trip to a community near 
Dharamsala, India, where we'll be helping improve sanitation for local residents. 
This trip is really important to me because ________________. I really want to prove 
to myself and my family that I can finance this trip on my own, so I'm here today 
(outside of my comfort zone??) asking you for financial help to make this trip a 
reality.   
 
Here is a flyer showing the details of our trip. There is a website you can visit 
to see our itinerary. If you'd like to take the flyer and look at the website before 
donating, that's definitely ok! I've included a link to my personal GoFundMe page on 
the flyer so it would be great if you could donate. I need to raise $____. ​Do you 
think you'd be willing to support me in this project? It would be incredibly 
helpful if you could support me with $20 / $40 / $50 / $80 / $100 / (Whatever 
you think you should pitch your person at - gauging this takes practice)  
- (IT'S IMPORTANT TO BE DIRECT AND ASK, BUT ALWAYS BE RESPECTFUL, AND 
NOTICE if/when they start pushing back) 
 
I would be incredibly appreciative of any amount you can donate. (If they 
insist that they can't give the amount you proposed, remind them that... "Even $20 
 
BUMP-UPS​ - This is advanced territory!   
- If you pitch someone for $20 and they don't bat an eye, they just say 
something like "sure, we can do that!", YOU CAN GAUGE THE SITUATION AND 
CONSIDER trying to "bump them up" and make a higher proposal. 
- Example: "Wow! This means a lot to me - thank you. (Maybe consider asking - 
"Just curious, why are you interested in supporting this project?") I have a long 
fundraising road ahead of me, and am wondering, is there any way you could give 
$30 instead of $20? This small difference would have a huge impact on my 
chances of successfully raising funds for this trip." 
 
MOST IMPORTANTLY​ - Practice on your own, and make it sound authentic - it 
should sound like your voice. People can see through canned pitches, and you'll 
have much more success if you practice your pitch and figure out how you can 
deliver it multiple different people in an authentic voice that you feel comfortable 
with. 
 

45
 
 

Big Fundraiser 
 
What is it? 
The big fundraiser is an event at school led by the trips within the travel 
program and is a way for each trip to obtain backup money. This is just in case some 
students fall behind on fundraising and are having trouble reaching deadlines. There 
will be fun events, activities, talks/speeches, food, music, raffles, and games 
decided on by team members from all of the trips. All of the members from each 
trip would help put on this big event by contributing to and working on different 
factors of the fundraiser. It would also help each trip bond as a collective travel 
program and hopefully remove any sense of “every trip for itself”. 
 
How does it ensure equity? 
The most important goal with pulling off a big fundraiser is both helping trips 
get a leg up financially and simultaneously achieving equity. This will be balanced 
through first of all, making sure the students within each trip all do their fair share of 
work when it comes to planning, designing, and conducting the fundraiser. Also, 
we’ll make sure that each trip gets an equal amount of money, and any 
variable/difference with that (such as priority for certain trips with less fundraised 
money or a sooner departure date) will be determined fairly by the administration. 
This fundraiser will help support every trip as fairly and as equally as possible. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

46
 
The Importance of Passion  
 
Passionate students are what drive projects to success. When your core 
group members give the project all they’ve got and genuinely care about the trip as 
though it was their baby, that excitement and devotion will rubs off on other team 
members. You guys are all working on this for relatively similar reasons and therefor 
share common goals. You’re all interested in immersing yourselves in the culture, 
history, and customs of the places you’re visiting. How you present yourself at travel 
fair determines who you attract to your trip and can help collect a group of students 
with similar mindsets, goals, and intentions. The different varieties of service and 
activities you’re doing on your trip attract different types of students based on their 
interests. For example, if your trip is more service focused and your itinerary reflects 
that, then students that are interested in a service intensive program will sign up for 
that in particular. It takes an insane amount of motivation to not give up on your trip 
since the amount of hurdles you will need to jump throughout the process is 
ridiculous. You will scream, cry, laugh, and run around in circles. At some points it 
will feel like it isn’t worth it to continue, but you’ll later see that it definitely was. You 
need to be prepared to work your butt off, but the journey is extraordinary. 
 
Is it worth it? 
After all the hard work is done and your sitting with everyone of the plain all 
of the stress and yelling will be worth it. Even though the trip will be incredible 
looking back on everything you've done to make the trip happen will also be a great 
experience. Your hard work has paid off and now you have the opportunity to have 
the most transformational amazing experience that you created. You done good.   
 
 
 
 
 
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Student Stories 
 
“I didn’t realize until after the trip just how much this experience would 
change me and the way I see my life. Not only am I much more grateful 
for what I have, but I also got to experience living in a whole different 
wonderful culture. I think the best thing for me and for a lot of us was 
the lack of technology. Always being there and present really helped 
me enjoy and appreciate every part of the experience and grow better 
relationships with the people around me.” 
-Cammy Kurtzman 
 
“In the short time that I spent with the students and the program I fell in 
love with the connection students had. Not only that, but it brought 
something new to my life and I liked it a lot because I got to meet new 
people.” 
-Luis Obregon 
 
“Going to Thailand on this trip would’ve been a major perk but I think the 
reason why we’re so attracted to this particular service trip was that it 
would certify us with first aid and we would be able to be in the clinic 
and actually help nurses and doctors diagnose and treat infectious 
diseases. This is a really important trip to me because it is an opportunity 
for me and others to be really immersed in traditional Asian culture and 
learn about their lives and daily practices.” 
-Frances Wong 
 

 
 

48
 
FAQs 
How should I pack? 
Before going on your trip you need to research the area beforehand. In 
different cultures dressing certain ways is unacceptable and you need to be aware 
of that because it can be offensive. You should also be aware of what types of 
hygiene options you will have, for example if you will be able to shower or do 
laundry. The agency or group you go with will likely have a packing list you can use 
as a reference tool for your group. 
 
How do I deal with jet lag? 
There are many different ways of dealing with jet lag and not everything 
works for every person. The way that I deal with jet lag is by even though I’m really 
tired when I get to my destination, I stay up till it’s night time and then go to bed (the 
common rule is not going to bed until 8:00 pm local time). This way I can wake up at 
the normal time and then not be jet lagged anymore. 
 
How can I stay safe on your trip? 
To stay safe on your trip there are many things you should do. First, do 
research for things that aren’t acceptable in the area your traveling to. Second, if you 
are allergic to a kind of food, make sure to ask anyone who's making you food if that 
thing is in it. If you are allergic to something that’s not food, make sure you're not 
near it. Finally, make sure to listen to your chaperones because they are the ones 
trying to keep you safe. This is all stuff the travel agency you use will have thought 
of, and if they haven’t you shouldn’t be traveling with them 
 
How do I stay motivated to plan a trip? 
Make sure you're really passionate about your trip. If you are really 
passionate about your trip, that will motivate you to want to finish working and go on 
the trip. 
You really don’t need to focus on keeping motivated, just finding something that 
you really want to be involved in and word on that. You won’t become bored if you 
are really motivated to finish the trip. If you do find yourself being bored or 
unmotivated, you just need to think about what you want to do on your trip, and the 
good you’ll be doing. That should being bring your mind back to it and help you 
keep driving. 
  

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How can I figure out what your passionate about? 
To find what you’re passionate about you should look into different trips that 
have happened inside or outside of d.tech. Researching about different things that 
you could do might spark interest and you can try and figure out how you could 
make something like that possible. 
 
How do I ensure success? 
To ensure success in planning your trip you should make sure that you keep 
a timeline and schedule and stay on top of your work. If you’re working with a group 
have weekly meetings and discuss what is going right and what isn’t working out.   
 
 
How can I create a good core group of students?  
To create a good core group of students you need to find a group of people 
that have similar interests in what you want your trip to be about and you want to 
make sure these people will get the work done. Make sure that everyone agrees on 
the same Ideas and are passionate about it. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

50
 
 
 

Travel Program Goals and Values 

 
Goals  
1. The travel programs aims to give every student an equal opportunity to 
travel. No matter your financial situation or prior travel experience the Travel 
Program at d.tech wants (EQUITY) 
2. Learn from experiences 
3. Challenge yourself  
4. Get out of the bubble  
5. Develop project management, fundraising and pitching skills  
6. Global impact  
7. Personal transformation   
 
Values  
● Connection with culture 
● Cultural Immersion  
● Determination & Commitment  
● Personal Growth 
● Global Responsibility 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

51
 
 
 

Legacy and Next Steps 

 
Travel Program Legacy (Our Vision) 
Our dream for the travel program is that every year when Freshman come 
into the d.tech every student will have an equal opportunity to plan or go on a trip. 
The two year plan will help guide them in the right direction. It would be awesome if 
every two years there would be new mentors and new core members and those 
mentors, core members and travel program heads would reiterate the guidebook 
and add what they've learned. So once you've gone through the two year plan and 
gone on either a service, immersion or exchange trip hopefully inspired your travel 
bug and now you have the motivation to help others to travel. Then students can 
become mentors or help out with other aspects of the travel program.  
 
Travel Program Next Steps  
The Travel program is committed to creating a school where Travel is 
accepted as an essential part of every education and where travel is a model of 
sustainable development. Travel program should be a community where all 
students who travel are connected by a shared humanity and all decisions are 
made with a global perspective. Every student should have access to travel and use 
travel as a tool for enhancing their education. Trough travel you can have a hands 
on education and learn from real experiences. Travel can be used as a tool for 
education, learning through the real world can sometimes be a lot more impactful 
and beneficial than always learning through textbooks in a classroom.  

 
travelprogram@dtechhs.org 
 

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