Cegep de la Gaspesie Adventure Tourism Students Complete Internships in Chile, Mexico and Costa Rica

8 students are currently preparing for their departures for Chile, Costa Rica and Mexico where they will spend up to 10 weeks completing internships in adventure tourism, eco-tourism and sustainable development.

The Adventure Tourism program at the Cegep de la Gaspesie et des Iles requires students to complete two internships (2.5 months each): the first, a co-op placement during the summer before their final year, and the second, a professional development project during their final semester. Many of them decide to take advantage of the bursaries and grants available in order to go abroad and experience Adventure Tourism from an international perspective. Students have gone as far abroad as New Zealand - to ski in the summer!

Partnerships have been developed with adventure tourism companies in Chile and several students each year spend time guiding groups and handling logistics in Patagonia, the Atacama desert, and even on Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the Americas! During these internships they have the opportunity to practice all they have learned in school, as well as put to use their Spanish skills. Between hiking, mountaineering, sea kayaking, rafting and canyoning, there isn’t much time left for writing postcards home!

This year, 2 students will be helping to develop sustainable tourism in Mexico in partnership with the University of Queretaro. This new project will have the students applying their natural history knowledge and skills in helping to develop new ecotourism projects in rural Mexico. Many new partnerships in different countries are in development.

The Co-op and Professional Development program has been designed to allow students to personalize their training in adventure and ecotourism. For more information on the program, please contact Mrs. Gaye Wadham, Student Advisor-Associate Director, Cegep de la Gaspésie et des Iles: English Section, 888.368.2201 ext. 1587, gwadham@cegepgim.ca, or visit our website: www.cegepgim.ca