Global Visionaries Executive Director Mila Sandoval helps work the land at a coffee plantation during their recent trip to Guatemala.
Courtesy Tim Rivera
Global Visionaries is a Seattle-based nonprofit that is empowering young people to be socially and environmentally conscious global leaders. Working with a diverse group of Seattle high school students, they have a multi-year leadership program that emphasizes social justice and environmentalism, both at home and abroad. Magnolia resident, Mila Sandoval, is a former Global Visionaries student and recently took over the role of Executive Director.
“When I was a junior at Ballard High School, I had the opportunity to travel for the first time with Global Visionaries and it changed my life," Sandoval said. “I had the opportunity to develop my own leadership skills while learning about the world, working alongside youth from Seattle and Guatemala.” In her first trip, she worked at a hospital for people with differing mental and physical abilities and got to see how her actions could impact others. She recalled a specific moment of connection with an elderly man from that hospital and how the experience has stayed with her, “but there were so many small moments that have shaped who I am and how I engage with the world. In that moment, I knew I would return to Guatemala and that my work engaging in local leadership and service was not complete.”
Sandoval came home to Seattle to finish high school. And after college and grad school, she became a teacher at a different Seattle high school, and eventually transitioned to become a social emotional consulting teacher for Seattle Public Schools.
It was in this capacity that Global Visionaries reentered her life, in the form of a student presentation in one of her classrooms. When she shared that she had once been a student participant of the program, she was invited to return as a trip leader. And this spring marked her sixth trip to Guatemala with Global Visionaries.
On Saturday, Sandoval and a group of Seattle teens arrived home from Guatemala. They had just spent two weeks partnering with Guatemalan youth, working on community projects and immersed in the local culture.
Courtesy of Mila SandovalIn addition to working at the same hospital where Sandoval had volunteered during her original visit, they worked on community building projects, volunteered in a hospital, worked on a coffee plantation, and planted trees to reforest areas hit by storms. During the trip, they also had an opportunity to work on their language skills and hear firsthand accounts of the histories that are not always taught in schools.
The junior leaders are the returning high school students that had the opportunity to take the lead with the newer students. And they shared a lot of great things about their recent trip. “I was immediately interested in joining the advanced leadership program, because I wanted to be part of this collective effort to take initiative.
The entire thing has been such an enlightening experience for me. I can’t imagine where I’d be now if it wasn’t for the presentation GV did at my school freshman year,” said Grace Rathkopf. Her young colleague Rachel Tromble said, “My experiences in Guatemala have been amazing and never fail to bring a smile to my face.”
Hazel Smith said, “Global Visionaries has taught me how to be confident in myself and my abilities.” And Yang Yi said, “GV opened up my perspective to so many of the inequalities in the world. I always knew about it but going on that trip and being there, seeing it helped me realize my own privilege.”
To date, over 37,000 new trees have been planted and over 587,000 hours of community service have been completed by youth in Seattle and Guatemala.
The youth will be back at their regular high schools this week and Sandoval will get back to work in the Global Visionaries offices. They are already planning return visits and future programming in Guatemala.
This month also marks the return of their annual gala: Leadership Begins With Youth. On Saturday, May 17, they will be hosting an event to celebrate and support the work of the organization. Tickets for the gala and more information about Global Visionaries can be found at www.globalvisionaries.org