Travel That Cares: Bryn Geddes on Sustainable Adventures with Road Scholar

What does it mean to travel in a way that leaves places better than we found them? In Episode 201 of the Adventures in Learning podcast, Dr. Diane sits down with Bryn Geddes, Senior Manager of Program Sustainability at Road Scholar, for a conversation that feels both practical and deeply personal. I've been fascinated by Road Scholar since I traveled to Antarctica with them -- and am delighted to bring this conversation home to you.

We talk about what sustainable travel really looks like on the ground, the everyday choices that add up, and how an organization with almost 800 itineraries in 100 countries is weaving care for people and planet into every trip.

Bryn shares how Road Scholar is moving beyond a few “green” programs to a whole-company approach: auditing itineraries, training teams and group leaders, and setting standards that protect wildlife, reduce waste, and support local communities. She also reflects on her own path from archaeology to sustainable tourism, what makes Road Scholar’s culture unique, and why curiosity and critical thinking are at the heart of meaningful travel. From plastic water bottles to linen changes, from Patagonia to the Civil Rights Trail, this episode is a warm, hopeful look at how we can explore the world with more humility, more respect, and more long-term impact.

If you’ve ever wondered how to travel in a way that aligns with your values — or if you just love hearing stories about people who are building a better kind of tourism — this conversation is for you.

Chapters

• 00:00 Welcome and the promise of travel
• 01:20 Bryn’s role and Road Scholar’s sustainability mission
• 03:45 What sustainable travel really means
• 09:30 Cultural sustainability and local communities
• 10:13 Road Scholar’s long-term sustainability plan
• 12:48 Meeting travelers where they are
• 14:44 Luxury, convenience, and behavior change in hotels
• 20:06 Bryn’s path from archaeology to sustainable tourism
• 24:38 What makes Road Scholar special
• 27:18 Favorite trips and bucket-list destinations
• 29:39 The Civil Rights Trail and immersive travel
• 31:12 Humility, curiosity, and intergenerational travel
• 33:03 Serving travelers 50+ and the next generation
• 35:33 What’s bringing Bryn hope right now
• 37:25 Closing and where to learn more

Links and resources

• Learn more about Road Scholar: Road Scholar
• Explore Road Scholar’s sustainability efforts: Road Scholar Sustainability

Call to action

Listen to the full episode, explore Road Scholar’s programs, and on your next trip, try one small sustainable change: carry a refillable water bottle, ask about towel and linen policies at your hotel, or choose a locally owned business for a meal or tour. This conversation is a reminder that travel can be an act of care — for the places we visit, the people who live there, and the future we all share.

Transcript

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SPEAKER_02 0:02

Welcome to the Adventures in Learning Podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Diane. And if you've been following along for a while, you know that I love to travel. I think that our best adventures in learning happen when we get out and we're able to see the world through other eyes. And I've been fortunate enough that I've had some pretty special adventures over the last few years, including a couple with Road Scholar. I've traveled to Antarctica, I've traveled across the Canadian Rockies on a train. And most recently, I've been to the Galapagos. And I am so excited to welcome somebody from Rhode Scholar today to talk about the importance of travel sustainability, about building relationships across cultures, and about the power of travel to connect us, to light up our world. I've got Brynn Geddes with us today. She is the sustainability manager at Rhodes Scholar, and I am so happy to have her with us. Wonder, Curiosity, Connection. Where will your adventures take you? I'm Dr. Diane, and thank you for joining me on today's episode of Adventures in Learning. Bryn, welcome to the show. Thanks for having me. I'm excited to be here. So, Bryn, you've been with Road Scholar for a bit now. Can you tell us what you do there and how you wound up in this position?

SPEAKER_01 1:29

Yeah, sure. So I am the senior manager of program sustainability at Road Scholar. And I work primarily within our programs department. So I work with all of the folks who um manage and operate our programs, and I help them to work on different pieces of sustainability. Because our overall goal is to have all of our programs be more sustainable as opposed to just having a small collection of programs that are sustainable. And uh this is pretty ambitious because we have almost 800 unique itineraries. Wow. So it's yeah, it's a lot of uh, it's a lot of different problem solving. And um we, you know, there's no one size fits all approach for this. There are certain things we've we've standardized, and so I'm working with teams to train them, to train our group leaders, and uh to just problem solve some of those trickier things that we have, you know, um uh single-use plastic water bottles. That's a that's a big one for people everywhere, uh, but particularly when you're traveling. So that's something that we look at um kind of across the board on our programs. Uh, we look at food waste as well, which is also tricky when traveling because for so many cultures, um a lot of food means that they're showing you a lot of love and a lot of respect. So we we we talk about those types of things, uh, but we're also digging in deeper and trying to figure out how we can impact change at a destination level. Um, you know, we we we have a lot of programs all around the world. We've been um we're we've just celebrated our 51st year. Uh so that's uh we we have an impact and we want to make sure that we are leaving the world and the places we visit a little bit better off and make sure that we're having the best uh both social and environmental impact we can have as travelers.

SPEAKER_02 3:45

And I guess that would be a good question for somebody who might be new to this conversation is what is sustainability and why does it matter so much?

SPEAKER_01 3:56

Yeah, uh huge question. Um let me fumble through that. So I think we'll we'll think about it, we'll think about sustainability within travel. Um, and because that that'll narrow it down a little bit for us. Um to get places most of the time, particularly if if you're in the US and you're going anywhere else, you're flying. Um there's there's no getting around the fact that that's that's the highest amount of carbon emissions that we are making as travelers. So um that's that's tricky. And that is something that you know we're we're keeping an eye on the airline industry. We want to know what they're doing, how they're adopting um more sustainable practices, uh, if they're adopting things like sustainable aviation fuel and all of that. And that's a rabbit hole that we could go down, but we'll get lost quickly. Uh so there's there's kind of no denying that there's there's a uh an environmental impact by flying. Um what we have the most control over is what happens on our programs. And so our focus is to help look at each of our programs and assess the areas of sustainability that we've identified as being super important. So there's some obvious ones. Um, minimizing our pollution, our our waste on our programs. So thinking uh in this way, we'd think about plastic water bottles. Um we we have an opportunity to reduce those. Not every single place that we travel. There are some places where it's going to be unavoidable, at least right now. Um, but there's a lot of places where the water is potable, it is safe, and we can refill water bottles. Everybody has one at this point, uh, and and we have them uh that we can give out as well. Um, so that's that's a that's a big focus, right? We're reducing our waste, that's one piece of it. Uh minimizing our environmental impact. So this can this looks a little bit different depending on the type of program. If you're on a cultural program where you're in a city, maybe you're not noticing this as much. But if you're on a hiking program or a program in the Galapagos, like you went on, there's there's rules that we should be following. So we've recently put out what we're calling our sensitive activity standards. And this is um we're we're first working with all of our partners uh who operate programs, and then we're going to be working with our group leaders and making sure that we have these set standards and we're in compliance with them. So if we're thinking about hiking in particular, uh leave no trace principles. Uh, any enthusiastic hiker can recite those and and they know that we need to make sure that you're you're taking pictures and leaving only footsteps, is what they say. So that's a that's one piece of it, and that can also look differently depending on the type of program. Um, we want to make sure we're protecting wildlife, taking care of animals. Animals are a huge part of why people travel to a lot of places. Um, I know in particular, you and I had chatted previously about penguins and your opportunity to see them. So our I think travel can be an incredible tool for conservation. Um, seeing these animals in in these places like penguins in Antarctica or um rhinoceros in Africa when you're on safari, that's that's going to inspire you and make you want to protect them. So that's a really important piece as well. But one of the big things that I think gets ignored often is a social sustainability piece. So when we're visiting and have programs going to a small community, and this is this is true of any type of travel, you you can have an impact on that community. So our focus is uh, or one of our many focuses. There's there's so many to choose from, uh, but figuring out how we're having both a positive impact by spending money with local uh businesses um and and otherwise, uh, so that we can make sure that money is staying in that community. That's really, really important in travel. And it's something that um, you know, looking into if you're going with a tour operator, you can look into some of their practices and see where they stand on that. But also just as an individual traveler, taking a little bit more time just to look around, do a little bit of research, that will help to ensure that maybe you you're working or you're spending more time and more money within uh a locally owned business. And that's super important because we want to make sure that the places we visit are sustainable in the sense that we'll be coming back for the next 50 years. And so that's that's a really important piece. Um, and that's really just touching the very top of uh what sustainable travel can look like and certainly how we're approaching it at Road Scholar.

SPEAKER_02 9:29

That makes a lot of sense. And I love the fact that cultural sustainability is a part of that. That when you're traveling with Road Scholar, you employ guides who are local, that you know, they know their communities, they understand the impact. I think that that really does create a better experience for the traveler, but it's also more authentic and I would imagine helps sustain the community as well. Yes, yeah. And I know you and I, when we were talking before, you had mentioned that Road Scholar has created sort of a long-term vision or plan that you're putting into effect and you're sort of in the beginning stages of it right now. Can you talk a little bit about what that's going to look like as it unwinds?

SPEAKER_01 10:13

Yeah, so I um leaving room for for evolution there, uh, but what we're what our I've mentioned this previously is that our um our focus is ensuring that each of our programs becomes a bit more sustainable. So um if if one program is perfectly sustainable and everything we do is like gold star, uh, you know, the most sustainable thing we're giving back to the earth and the people and everything is great. That's a really beautiful thing. But we, as I said, have almost 800 unique itineraries. So what we need to do is our first step is making an imperfect approach on each of them so that we're doing something everywhere. And then from that, we will continue to grow that effort and make sure that each of our programs improves its sustainability bit by bit. Uh, so we we started by doing some auditing. Our next step was to develop um trainings for all of our teams. So this includes the folks that are developing the programs and operating them, um, our group leaders, and and then helping make sure that the information we're presenting on the ground when you're on your program helps participants understand how they're contributing to a more sustainable type of travel. So that's really where we are right now. And then long term, my goal will be for that to just continually improve on each type of program that we have. And then as we learn more, because we're we're not static, we're we're always learning new things about sustainability and new approaches, we'll be able to adopt those. And then the longer-term vision is to be working at a destination level with other stakeholders in tourism to help places to improve and adopt more sustainable models so that uh it's benefiting both the communities that are being visited and not harming the environment. That's really important to us. And uh that's a that's definitely a long-term thing because you know, each destination that you work in is a project, and we have programs in around a hundred countries. So there's lots of work to be done.

SPEAKER_02 12:48

It reminds me a little bit as you're talking about the approach that we as educators take. You know, when you're in the classroom, it's not one size fits all. You're not, you know, you've got your standards, but each child is individual and they're unique, and you want what's best for that child. And so you meet them where they're at, and then you help them to grow. And it sounds like that's a lot of what you're doing there.

SPEAKER_01 13:11

Yes, absolutely. When we work with each of our different partners, um, you know, we can't treat a program in Costa Rica the same way that we treat a program in Texas or a program in Switzerland. You know, all of these are very different places and there's different needs, and there's also different infrastructure. You know, it boils down to things that we don't have a lot of control over, but we can have some influence longer term. So that's that's you know, we we are attempting to look at each of these puzzle pieces, you know, a regional puzzle piece, if you will, and really assess what's the biggest thing that we can do to make a difference here and and focus in on that. And then like I said, we do have some kind of standards in general that we want each of our programs to meet. Um, but those are those are things that we we feel like with training and implementation we can ensure we're doing. And then there's just those trickier pieces where it's uh, you know, uh changing maybe the the way that people approach um uh how how they run a hotel, which is like you know, not everybody needs a plastic water bottle when the tap water is safe. But that's uh that that's that's some changes that have to happen in in the way that the entire tourism industry operates.

SPEAKER_02 14:44

Well, and I think that some of that is systemic, particularly I'm thinking in America, in terms of what we have come to expect as luxury, in quotes. Um you know, I was at a hotel last week because I was speaking um in Alabama and I noted that my hotel came with three plastic water bottles, none of which I opened or used, um, because I'm looking at it thinking, I have a water bottle with me, I don't need this, but I think that it's like this automatic assumption that if you're staying at a hotel that's at whatever level, you walk in and expect to see treats or water bottles or whatever. And it's not necessary.

SPEAKER_01 15:29

Yeah, the idea of hospitality and convenience, I think, get um get confused. And I, you know, I I used to work in our operations department, and this is something that I I noticed a lot, and it's kind of a foundation for how we work with our hotels is we ask questions about do you provide plastic water bottles, especially if we're in an area where we know the water, the drinking water, the tap water is safe. Um, we ask about uh um changing linens and towels, right? That's something that we we need to think about because uh the massive use of water that it takes to wash those every single day has a big impact, particularly if you're from a part of the world like where I am in in the southwest US where uh we're in a drought. We're almost always in a drought. We don't need to change our sheets and towels every day. And if we were at home, we wouldn't be doing that. Exactly. So there's some behavior both on our participants' part, but also on the part of the hotel. And I know that um in a in a kind of post-COVID world, uh hotels are have adopted some different approaches, and many will just do uh towel and linen exchange on request, or maybe every three days. We think that's great. Uh, but just um it would uh I want to make sure I state this that uh it checking in when you're checking in at a hotel, asking about how often they change towels and sheets is a great thing to do. Um, and if they have a policy where they change every three days or only on request, or you have a little placard that you set out if you want them changed, uh do that, but still get your room cleaned because that uh we when we're thinking about sustainability, we're also thinking about the social side of things, right? And those are jobs. People rely on those jobs. And that's that's another piece that we've had a lot of discussion around how we phrase things when we're communicating to hotels and how we want our group leaders to speak, because we certainly don't want to have a negative impact and being like nobody get housekeeping, when really it's just you don't use your people out of a job either.

SPEAKER_02 17:54

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 17:54

Yeah, so it's um I mean it's tricky. Uh it's a it's a uh, like I say, it's behavior change, but it's also really trying to think uh think fully through the way that we travel and the way that the industry is set up. Um, because it's we're really entrenched in these styles of you know receiving the kind of convenience and making things uh nice, but don't always think through like the full picture of what it is. That makes a lot of sense.

SPEAKER_02 18:33

Imagine a space where curiosity drives innovation, where empathy fuels collaboration, and where learning feels less like a task and more like an adventure. My message isn't about adding more to your plate, it's about changing how you see the plate entirely. I'm Dr. Diane Jackson Schnorr, and through the power of purposeful play, I equip leaders, educators, and organizations with the tools you need to unlock creative problem solving, deepen human connection, and build resistant ecosystems of empathy and innovation. Attendees will walk away not just inspired but empowered, with immediately usable strategies to spark curiosity in teams, to lead with empathy, and to infuse learning into their everyday cultures. You'll learn how play isn't child's work, it's the secret weapon of the world's most effective leaders and change makers. This is not a feel-good talk that's faked by Monday morning, it's a movement. A shift in how we engage people, solve problems, and leave meaningful change. My talks and workshops are shaped by decades of experience in education and a transformative message that connects across sectors. Whether your audience is corporate, educational, or nonprofit, they'll be ready to rethink what's possible, both personally and professionally. Because when we learn and lead through play, we don't just change organizations, we change the world. Check it out at drdianeadventures.com. You know, Bryn, you mentioned that you had been in the operations side of Road Scholar as well. One of the things I know our listeners are fascinated by is how people go about their adventures and learning, how you wound up where you are, um, particularly in the travel industry, which is adjacent to STEM and STEAM because there's so much science involved. You know, you've got the cultural connections. Um how did you end up in the travel industry?

SPEAKER_01 20:35

Uh I think like a lot of people, it's a long story. Um great. I went uh I went to undergrad uh for anthropology and archaeology. Uh, so really practical stuff. Um I wanted to be, I wanted to be an archaeologist. And I through that had the opportunity to travel to a number of different places and work at archaeological sites. So I worked in Italy for a summer, um, hot summer digging holes. Uh and it was it was a it was an amazing experience because I was working with uh a group of American students, but also a group of Italian students. And what really struck me about that experience was not so much uh how much I loved to dig holes and draw maps, which is you know fun sometimes. Uh, but it was the fact that when we got done with work, it was, hey, I wanna the you know, becoming friends with some of the Italian kids. It was like, hop in the car. We want to take you to this really cool town that's 15 kilometers away, and we're gonna eat dinner and just hang out in the the plaza. And you get this experience that was so unique. And then I Um, also had the opportunity to work in Peru twice. And that really had a massive impact because it was a place that I had never been and a place that was uh just showed me that the world can look and feel very different. Uh, but people are all really interesting and engaging. And they the the opportunity that I had there on two different occasions really just solidified that I loved the traveling that I got to do. I loved how I got to interact with people. Um, and maybe I didn't want to dig holes. It was uh I mean, I I do I do love archaeology. I wasn't sure that I wanted to be in college for many, many years and then go down the professor track and all of that. Uh so I thought about it a bit. I found out about a sustainable tourism master's program, uh, which I went into um and learned a lot and really kind of got to take all of the anthropology pieces that I learned and the science stuff that I love and dig in a little bit more on the environmental piece. So uh I wish I could say that from there it was a straight line into the travel industry, but it definitely wasn't. Um it I I worked in recreation, um, outdoor recreation, kind of gear, that sort of thing. Um I also worked in events and marketing uh because that was that was really adjacent to travel for me. And then um eventually it all kind of pulled together and uh all each of those experiences informed the next. And so I landed at Road Scholar at the end of 2022. Um, and I like I said, was working in operations. So um throughout my career prior to this, I had pursued some project management as well. And I really think that's that was probably the smartest move I made of any educational pieces was was doing that and and just being able to focus in on fine details and then pull it back and look at the the big picture and being able to see the forest for the trees.

SPEAKER_02 24:38

And what makes road scholar special in your opinion? Because I know at one point you told me you're not somebody who drinks the Kool-Aid.

SPEAKER_01 24:46

Yeah, uh, I am not. I generally reject it and don't want to be at the party. Uh just um there is just something special about Rode Scholar. So um the people that I've had the opportunity to work with for the past three and a half years are all excellent, smart, curious, critical thinkers. And I think that's really a nice experience uh to be able to go and engage with people and and and I've found that uh there it's not there's not just a especially in this role, it's not just a cakewalk. Like you're gonna, you people are gonna challenge you and ask questions and seek for you to improve the process, which just makes you better. So I feel like in that sense, it's been really uh a cool experience for me to focus in that way. But Road Scholar as a whole is is unique, it's an organization that's has a set of values that it actually does follow. And the folks who work there um tend to stay there forever. You know, we have a ton of people who've worked at Road Scholar for 30 plus years. Um that's incredible and not something that anyone in my generation is like that we don't believe that that happens till you see it. So um that has been I I think being able to find an organization that has values that it actually follows, thinks critically about things, um, you know, tries to understand, like, hey, are we doing this to the best of our ability? Um, and also just the fact that uh, you know, and and I might be in a unique position because I'm I am the person who works on sustainability full-time, but there's just a a trust that I'm gonna think through things and then bring it to the people who make decisions and work to hone all of those details. So um yeah, I I have uh drank the Kool-Aid and I uh I do feel very lucky that I'm in an organization that's just so thoughtful about every about how they approach every every piece of the the business, if you will.

SPEAKER_02 27:18

Well, and I love what you were just saying about critical thinking and sort of that passion, the environmental care. And I'm thinking you have an opportunity to travel, I'm sure, with Road Scholar. Are there particular trips that have been your favorites? And are there things that are still on your bucket list of places you can't wait to travel as part of the adventure?

SPEAKER_01 27:40

Yeah, I I mean my bucket list grows daily. So I I've just completed a project where we've reviewed every itinerary that we have. Um, and that has been really uh inspiring in the sense that now I'm like, well, I know I need to go to like 40 different programs and I don't have enough time to do it. So uh it's hard to choose what I want to do the most, but um I am I I love hiking, I love being outdoors. So I you could put me on any one of those programs and I would be happy. Um, Patagonia is huge for me. Uh I I loved my time in Peru and I did not get to spend nearly enough of it going and having fun. Uh so any of those programs I think would be spectacular. Um it's it's really hard for me to choose. So I'm gonna just focus in. That would be top destination. Uh, and then when I worked in our operations uh team, I worked in the Southwest and I all of my programs were in New Mexico. And New Mexico is just such a uh special place. And the people that we have who present uh who provide lectures on our programs, who welcome us into their homes or onto their farms to show us things, they're they're incredible. And those experiences are fantastic. So really, you can't go wrong with a single one of those programs. Um and yeah, I I wish I got to go on more programs. Uh, I do find myself going to a lot of conferences, and I need to adjust the way I approach conferences so that I go and have an experience outside of a lecture hall.

SPEAKER_02 29:39

Right. And that's the hard part because while conferences are rewarding and fulfilling and a part of the job, they're not getting to be out and in the community. Yes, yeah. I found myself thinking that last week in Birmingham because I spent five days inside a um hotel ballroom because I was presenting, but I did Wednesday night. Um, I was able to take myself out and I went to the 16th Street Baptist Church and I sat on the steps and listened to the choir sing. And I found myself, as I was doing that, it was an incredibly powerful experience to feel that and to walk a little of the civil rights trail. But there was in the back of my mind going, I bet Road Scholar has a program for this.

SPEAKER_01 30:22

I was just thinking, uh, we have a great program that goes through there. Uh, or we have a few civil rights programs, and and that one is uh pretty, pretty spectacular. Um but yeah, there's something, you know, the wonderful thing about travel is that you can go and just sit down and listen and see the people and watch life happen around you and just immerse yourself in a place. And I think that's something Road Scholar does in a really unique way, is give you an educational value and help you firmly establish a sense of the place that you're in, which then helps you reflect on it in such a different way and have a much closer connection. And um yeah, that's that's what's so important and impactful about travel.

SPEAKER_02 31:12

I agree. And it's that idea of unlocking your wonder and your curiosity, because it's only by entering in with good faith and responsibility and doing it in a sustainable way and in a trustworthy way. You have you have to enter travel with some humility and a willingness to be open and to learn. Um, because I think that if you go in thinking I know everything, you're gonna miss the authentic experiences that defined your time in Peru or your your time in Italy or my time in the Galapagos or in Birmingham, even. You know, it's so important to be open to those experiences. And that's something that I think Rhodes Scholar does very well. And I first discovered you with my dad. My dad um is now turning 84 this summer, but um he had wanted to do your Rockies program. And we then wound up doing Antarctica as well because at 80 he decided he needed to go to Antarctica. And I volunteer as tribute. But, you know, I remember learning about Rhodes Scholar, and I knew you um from a friend through your previous incarnation as Elder Hostel, and I thought I'm gonna be like the youngest person on this trip. And I was so surprised because you've really evolved, and I was definitely not the youngest person. And it was lovely to see sort of the intergenerational approach to travel and that it's absolutely a place where if you're a senior citizen and you're traveling, you're going to be treated with respect and kindness and and understanding that you have so much to contribute, but there's also space for Gen X and millennials and uh Gen Z as well. And that was really nice to see. How is that a deliberate um ethos on the part of the company?

SPEAKER_01 33:03

So the main our main focus is uh travelers 50 and up. Um and I I love this because uh our a goal of ours is to foster this long-term curiosity and an interest in lifelong learning, which is uh an incredible thing and really an overlooked group of people who who want to learn, who have their own lifetime of information and they want to go and add more to it. So I think that that's that's the main focus for us. But we do have intergenerational programming um for families and grandparents uh and grandchildren. And those are those are really cool programs. And um just one example, I there is a woman who's worked at Road Scholar for I don't know how many years, and she took her granddaughter on as many programs as she possibly could during the summer, the the grandparent programs that they host. And they went, they've gone all over the world together. And now her granddaughter works for Road Scholar. So that's a that's a pretty incredible place, and it taught um this this young woman, you know, curiosity and an interest in travel and an interest in other cultures at such a young age and has influenced her in that way. Uh, so I think that there's there's a lot of gifts to be given uh in that experience. And then I know we're road scholars kind of constantly evolving. You can't make it to 51 years and and not be curious and and trying new things. And so I think we'll be in an interesting place as we start to serve more people in Gen X as our next big group that's coming up, uh our next cohort, if you will. Uh and and I think that that will, you know, with each um generation that we serve, the way that we provide programming evolves. So we we started on college campuses in the Northeast, and people came for a week and stayed in dorms and took classes. And and that's that's that was really unique in 1975. Uh, and now look at us, you know, you are able to take your dad on a cruise to Antarctica, and um, you know, people can join us for programming in a hundred different countries.

SPEAKER_02 35:31

It's pretty pretty wonderful and unique. That is amazing and unique. So before we go, Bryn, um, I'm gonna ask you the last question that I always love to end with, which is what's currently bringing you hope?

SPEAKER_01 35:45

Oh I am I'm excited by people willing to be critical thinkers. Uh uh for me, that's a personality thing. I I don't know what it is, but I want to ask questions. I want to dig in and understand the why behind things. And so when I see our participants with that same amount of curiosity and they're eager and interested, and they want to see more places and understand cultures, I find that really inspiring. And then when I work with our our partners that are making these programs happen, and they're enthusiastic about evolving things and trying to push the envelope and and try to improve a little piece here or there, that kind of openness and curiosity and just willingness to engage with people and try, and maybe we fail, but we're gonna keep going, that to me is inspiring and gets gets me excited about the next person I get to talk to and the next project I get to work on. So I find I think uh critical thinking people who want to go out in the world and have a positive impact. Uh, that's what makes me feel really hopeful.

SPEAKER_02 37:25

I love that. Well, Brynn, thank you so much for joining us today. And if people want to learn more about the programs, I will drop some links into the show notes so that you can learn a little bit more about Road Scholar and about your sustainability efforts. Thanks for joining us. Yeah, thank you so much for having me. You've been listening to the Adventures in Learning podcast with your host, Dr. Diane. If you like what you're hearing, please subscribe, download, and let us know what you think, and please tell a friend. If you want the full show notes and the pictures, please go to drdianeadventures.com. We look forward to you joining us on our next adventure.