Exploring ancient temples, building wheelchairs for landmine victims and learning about documentary filmmaking are just some of the opportunities that students will have access to on the new Archer abroad trip to Cambodia, which will take place during the 2017-2018 school year. The opportunity to apply to this program was open to all upper schoolers.

Archer hosts a fall service trip every year that alternates between Guatemala and India through the company Where There Be Dragons. This will be the first year the trip to Cambodia is being offered to replace the former Guatemala trip.  

However, the Cambodia trip differs because there will be a focus on digital storytelling and documentary filmmaking, supported by film teacher Steven Jacobson and head librarian Stephanie Daehler.

“The objective is to enable participants to make meaning from the experience, and to share our findings with others in an ethically responsible, artistically ambitious format,” Daehler wrote in an email.

Some of the locations that Archer girls will explore and document include Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh, the ancient Angkor Temples and the Phnom Kulen National Park. 

Because the trip is so unique and different than others in the past, X-Blocks will be used to plan and refine aspects of the trip.

“X-Block time will be used pre-course to learn about Cambodia’s complexities, and to shape our digital storytelling vision and skills,” Dealer wrote in an email. “Post-course, the X-Block time will be used to process our experience together, and to edit our documentaries, which we will get to share with the community.”