*PARENTS:

QBE (Qualified By Experience) is a top-shelf expeditionary learning initiative supported by a group of like-minded adventure enthusiasts who taught at or attended the same Swiss international school years ago. Outdoor and cultural expeditions were always mandatory for us, and through the years, skiing, mountaineering, cycling, and sailing were the outdoor activities of choice. So when one of our expedition masters came across two rare pilot cutters on the market a number of years ago, he immediately started working the phone to raise funds to purchase them. His idea was to make the school’s transformative experiences available to a larger market.

When it comes to boosting self-esteem, challenging outdoor adventures (like small-yacht open-water sailing) can be the secret sauce, especially when participants are given the reins to make many of their own expedition decisions. There’s nothing quite like the exhilaration of cutting through the water with a strong breeze in your sails, unless it’s the pride you feel when pulling into port after a challenging day on the water. There’s ample evidence that self-esteem is a powerful catalyst for academic and career success. Parents and educators are constantly amazed at the difference a great adventure can make in a teenager’s life trajectory. And what’s more, youngsters love it. In fact, many of our crewmates come back and do it again.

The Four Stages of “Coming of Age”

• Realization—growth, change, emotional availability
• Removal—separation, setting out from a familiar environment to test one’s mettle in an unfamiliar one
• Challenge—impressive personal accomplishment and the self-confidence that flows from it
• Reintegration—”rebirth” and return to the original environment with new insights, maturity, and status