Fifty summers. Thousands of students and staff members. Countless stories.
EXPLO's history is all about its people: the people who showed up, tried something new, made a friend, taught a class, stayed up too late, asked a big question, or discovered something they didn't know they were looking for.
50 Years of EXPLO Experiences
EXPLO is turning 50! Get to know some of our alumni, staff, and the generations of people who get to live bigger, fuller, more curious lives, thanks in part to the sparks EXPLO helped light.
50 Summers of Curiosity: The Magic Spark of EXPLO
How the early days of EXPLO became a proving ground for Brian Hughes and Scott Traylor—and their belief in transformative learning.
50 Summers of Curiosity: How EXPLO Is Shaping the Future of Education
From fostering curiosity student-directed learning to building immersive experiences to prioritizing joy, EXPLO has spent 50 years redefining what school can be—and inspiring the educators building what comes next.
We asked alumni, staff and families what EXPLO left with them. Here is what some of them told us, in their own words.
What they told us
The same few things came up again and again, from students in 1984 and students in 2019.
Found my path
One class or one teacher turned into a career.
“
EXPLO helped me decide that I wanted to be a doctor! Now almost 15 years later I am almost done with residency.
Andrea S. Yale, 2012
“
The introduction to the law and what being an attorney could look like led me to becoming an attorney today!
Ashley T. Wellesley + Yale, 2012-2013
Friends for life
Thirty stories mention friends they still have.
“
...lifelong friendships (just attended a wedding at a table of Explo alum, and invited multiple to my own wedding).
Monique L.C. Wellesley Staff, 2018-2020
“
My EXPLO best friend is my neighbor and adult best friend!
Alyssa N. Yale, 2015
Just be me
A place to be treated as yourself.
“
No one at EXPLO had a preconceived idea of who I was, so I just got to be me for those three weeks.
Talia S. 2008-2011
“
...a place for kids who struggled to fit in to in fact be celebrated for their intelligence, quirkiness, and creativity.
Kurt K. St. Mark's Staff, 1997-2008
First time away
Scary at first, and worth it.
“
Being home away for that long was scary, but so rewarding when I realized I could thrive away from home and make my own friends.
Elijah M. 2013
“
I went to EXPLO in 2010 from Venezuela and had my first real experience in the outside world! It changed the way I viewed the world!
Valentina V. Yale, 2010
Became a teacher
For many staff, EXPLO was their first classroom.
“
EXPLO 1988 was my first teaching summer, and it sent me hurtling headlong into that most delightful of careers.
Dan W. Wellesley Staff, 1988
“
My summers at EXPLO were my motivation for becoming a teacher.
Josh B. St. Mark's Staff, 2005-2012
A family tradition
Alumni who sent their own children.
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What started as one summer adventure for an Argentine teenager more than three decades ago became a family tradition spanning two generations.
Daniela B. Wellesley, 1991
“
You never know which future world leader is in the pool!
Jodi L. 1981-1989, quoting her parents
“
EXPLO raised me. It was my school. My playground. My job training. My launchpad to adulthood.
Aly T. Student at Wellesley + Yale, Staff at St. Mark's + Wheaton
Stories worth reading in full
Three that stayed with us.
Generations of Spark
Daniela crossed the world as a teenager with three cousins, found a teacher who pointed her toward international affairs, and thirty years later watched both of her daughters follow her to EXPLO.
A friend from EXPLO at Yale in 2014 asked Caroline to help on a film project, Caroline's first formal filmmaking experience. Today Caroline is a TV producer and editor, and mentors young creatives.
Read More
50 Summers of Curiosity
Bronwyn took on teaching five classes in one summer after a colleague left. At her review she heard that one student called her Songwriting class “life changing.”
Read More
Your story belongs here.
Were you a student, a teacher, a parent? Tell us what EXPLO meant to you, and where it took you.
