Since moving back to the states, I’ve met many people who have never traveled overseas. There are plenty of reasons for this; some people have no interest, some people don’t see it as a priority and for some people it’s not financially possible.

I totally get it- with our meager two weeks of vacation a year, international travel isn’t easy. But I truly think the U.S. as a whole would benefit if our citizens traveled more.

Which is why I’m very excited to share my interview with Nomadic Matt, who just started FLYTE, the Foundation for Learning and Youth Travel Education. FLYTE’s mission is to help high school kids in underserved American communities travel overseas.

When Matt asked if I could spread the word about FLYTE, I said yes in a heartbeat as I think travel at a young age is extremely important. So far Matt has raised more than $8,000 and needs more donations- I’ve personally donated as this is a cause I strongly believe in.

So when did you think of the idea to start FLYTE?

About last year. I’d been kind of ruminating it for a while and fully thought of it for a long time. I wanted a way to give back to people. So I finally decided to do it this year after reading Richard Branson’s autobiography.

Why do you think it’s important for young people to travel?

At such an impressionable age they can learn so much about the world and be exposed to idea that they otherwise wouldn’t have been exposed to in their own small community. They can get a sense that the world is bigger on a firsthand level and they can exposed to people, ideas and culture that can really change their thinking and show them that it’s a big world out there; there’s a lot of opportunity. And to break out of that mindset that there’s only my little space.

 

Yeah definitely. And so how do you think being exposed to international travel will help them in their academic and professional careers?

Being at such a young age there’s still a long life to live and everybody changes. But by being exposed to ideas it could give them different ideas as to what they want to do with their own lives that could have a positive impact. A friend of mine’s kids went traveling when they were younger and now they do a lot of volunteer and development work after seeing a lot of poverty overseas.

So is this going to have an immediate impact for a sixteen-year old? Probably not, because their career is a long way off. But this going to help them figure out what they want to do and what they want to study and where they want to go in their lives.

So who will be considered eligible for FLYTE?

We’re looking to support schools in rural or economically depressed urban communities. We’re still working out our guidelines but they’ll have to meet certain economic criteria in terms of are they on special assistance, is their community considered impoverished or do they live in some place that’s one person per million miles or something like that. We’re looking to reach the people who are not normally reached.

So who will be leading the trips?

We will be providing assistance and travel planning but they will be lead by the teachers and the chaperones from those kids’ schools.

Oh okay, so you won’t be on the trips?

No. Our goal is to not run a tour company. We provide the funding and the logistical expertise to make the trip happen.

Interesting. So do you have any idea of where you want the kids to go first, or will they choose? How does that work?

The teachers will submit a proposal and they will be allowed to pick wherever they want to go so long as it meets an educational criteria.

In the beginning we’ll try to send people to “safe” destinations so we can build a track record. We probably won’t send kids to Azerbaijan right away. But at the end of the day we leave it up to the school. So long as it meets the criteria and there’s a purpose. We don’t want to only send kids to Italy right; we want the place to match what they’re learning in school. If they want to take kids to Japan? So be it. If they want to take kids to Nicaragua? So be it.

Cool. How do you hope this program will affect us on a more national level? What do you hope this promotes as a message?

We want to promote not only that more people should travel but also that more kids should travel and there should be more funding to create a more international perspective in schools when the world is so globalized. We’re all part of a global economy now so it’s very important for people to have a broader perspective.

That makes sense. I personally find the attitude that travel is only for the rich and that it’s a luxury very prevalent in the states. And they don’t see that you can do it cheaply, and that if you make it a priority it’s something you can achieve- well, at least for most people. So I think that would be a good message too.

Right and if you get kids hooked on that when they’re young they’re going to carry that idea throughout their whole life and slowly change the prevailing opinion.

And back to you guys. Do you think it’s important for high schoolers to travel abroad?