Two crews set out on their new adventure with Outward Bound into the Delaware Water Gap and the Appalachian Mountains last summer. They arrived at Life Camp in Tewksbury N.J., with their families to see them off on July 6, 2025. They met their new instructors and crewmates, the people they spent the next two weeks getting to know on their expedition. They had a duffel bag in hand, carrying everything they thought they would need: clothes, a hat, notebook, pen, bug spray and maybe a disposable camera, all the essentials. It would also be an emotional moment as they said goodbye to their parents and siblings. They wouldn’t be able to be in contact for two weeks, which was scary for some, but they were about to embark on a new adventure.
This year, Philadelphia Outward Bound came to Hillsborough High School for an interest meeting about their program New Jersey Youth Leadership Corps (NJYLC). Ritam Chakraborty, Student Engagement and Alumni Manager at Philadelphia Outward Bound School and other instructors spoke with students who were interested in the program.Instructors discussed expectations, requirements and what students would experience during the trip. The trip spans two weeks, from July 5-July 18, 2026, this summer. During the trip students will be hiking through the Delaware Water Gap and Appalachian trails, this part will take seven days. The canoeing portion will also take seven days and that will be in the Delaware River. Only current freshmen, sophomores and juniors can participate. It is also a no-device expedition, so devices of any kind are not permitted on the trip and can be left at home. There will be two trips with 2-3 instructors and up to 12 students per team. There will most likely be no functioning bathrooms on the trip. This means no showers and no flushing toilets. Of course, experience is not required as students will be taught everything they will need to know.
There will be opportunities for students to rock climb, do park service and do a 24-hour solo camp. As the expedition goes on, the instructors will step back so the crew can use their newly learned skills and put them to the test. This experience follows a challenge-by-choice philosophy, meaning students are welcome to try the listed activities, never forced to participate. Chakraborty explained the philosophy. “For some people, this might not feel exciting and that’s ok,” he said. “It’s not the right time and that’s ok. If you have an interest to try something new, to go out on an adventure to work with other high schoolers then I would encourage them to apply.” Students can apply at the official Philadelphia Outward Bound School website under the “Programs” tab. The tuition is $100 and each student will need two letters of recommendation (250-500 words) and a personal essay (500+ words). They can get letters of recommendation by any teacher or non-familial adult. Students have until March 7, 2026, to apply and interviews with Ritam are either April 5 or 6. Notifications of acceptance or denial will arrive shortly after.
According to Outward Bound, the ultimate goal of the trip is to get kids excited about reconnecting with nature and to have them nudged out of their comfort zone to try new things, gain leadership skills and self-confidence. Chakraborty said he has seen many crews go on the expedition and come out with new skill sets. “The biggest way I’ve seen is developing self-confidence. Just feeling like ‘Wow, I can do hard things, I can do things that I’ve never done before and I can really put myself out there physically and socially,’” Chakraborty said.
The school first started having Outward Bound come to the high school when Tobi Fleig, a guidance counselor, was contacted. “My goal originally, when they first contacted our school about it, I thought it was something really cool and different that we don’t have,” Flieg said. “I thought it was a great opportunity.”
Student alumni were also encouraged to give their own personal experiences from their trips in 2025 and 2024. They shared advice and funny stories about mistakes they made and how much they had bonded with their crewmates. Katie Trujillo, an alum from 2024, was at the interest meeting and she said she loved going on her trip. “Meeting people that come from such different experiences than me was really the people are the best part and outward bound,” Trujillo said. “t was such a beautiful experience to reconnect with myself as well as reconnecting with nature.”
When the interest meeting concluded, students took fliers with more information and how to apply. One student, Violet DeFilippis, said she was very interested in the expedition. “I do hikes on my own, but being a kid, you can’t really do as much, so now that I’m old enough my parents will let me. I really wanna do this because it seems like such a fun experience,” DeFlippis said. “The goal of the expedition is to help young people build leadership skills and self-confidence by working together and traveling through the wilderness for two weeks.” Chakraborty said.
