Go beyond volunteering. Build something that lasts on a buildOn Trek.
A buildOn Trek is like a 10-day Peace Corps for high school and college students. It gives students the chance to lead through service by organizing a fundraising campaign, earning service hours and helping build a primary school in Nepal, Malawi, Senegal or Guatemala.
You’ll return with leadership experience, a global perspective and a story that stands out on an application.
Where Purpose Meets Adventure
Trek is a life-changing journey rooted in service. Students fundraise individually or as a team, then travel abroad to work side by side with community members.
Along the way, you’ll immerse yourself in local culture, help build a school and see the lasting impact of service and education in action.
How It Works
- Join or start a team. Most students Trek with a group from their school, chapter, or community.
- Fundraise together. Your team raises donations to fund the school’s construction. buildOn’s online tools and fundraising guide make it manageable.
- Prepare. Information sessions, enrollment forms, and pre-departure training make sure your team is ready.
- Travel and build. Spend about a week living with a host family and working on-site with the community.
- Come home and keep building. Bring your story, your service hours, and your fundraising experience back to your school, your applications, and your community.
What You’ll Be Able to Put on Your Resume
- Grassroots fundraising. You’ll help set a goal, build a campaign, and hit a real financial target as part of a team.
- Project and budget management. Tracking progress toward a fundraising goal and a construction timeline.
- Cross-cultural communication. Working alongside people whose first language, customs, and daily life may be very different from yours.
- Team leadership. Trek teams plan, problem-solve, and work together under real conditions, not a simulation.
- Public speaking and community organizing. Most students present their fundraising campaign to their school, family, or local community before they ever leave the country.
What Trek Participants Are Saying
Trek made such a difference in my life and the path that I went down. I haven’t been able to find anything that compares to it—living in a community, working with the community, being part of the community. There’s something so special about that you can’t get elsewhere.
Trek is more than just a line on your CV and application. It is a much bigger commitment. I think there’s students for whom it makes the difference between getting into a school and not getting in because it shows a higher level of engagement and concern for the world, rather than just doing things for yourself.
I think Trek can show leadership. That you’re teachable, that you’re able to follow through on things, that you can be of service to people, and that you’re interested in doing things outside of yourself. Those traits can definitely stand out to an employer or admissions officer.
What's Trek Really Like? Follow Rishi's Journey.
Join Rishi Tandon as he builds a school in Senegal and learn what you can expect out of your time on Trek!
SEE RISHI’S TREKStart Your Journey.
Find out more about Trek and how fundraising works.
