How does exploring the world make us better citizens? What can other cultures teach us about ourselves?
BC High is unique among secondary schools in that we offer extensive travel and immersion opportunities starting as early as 7th grade. The Lawrence H. Hyde ’42 Center for Global Education offers international experiences to over a dozen countries across the globe from Argentina to Vietnam. Additionally, we offer domestic intercultural experiences, such as Brownsville, TX, which places students in communities where they can engage with other perspectives, learn more about themselves, and better understand their responsibility in our interconnected world. Our ultimate objective is to have them return to our community where they can make a tangible difference in effecting social, environmental, or economic change.
Through exploration of other countries, cultures, and communities, we encourage you to develop a deep understanding of humanity as a whole—because understanding breeds compassion, and compassion helps make us the strong, wise, and kind leaders we strive to be.
Additionally, we work with a variety of academic programs that promote interculturality – encouraging dialogue, mutual respect, and the awareness of preserving and appreciating various cultural identities.
Have a Question?
Call or email Jenny Ehalt, Associate Director of the Hyde Center [email protected] or 617-474-5017 to learn more about the programs or to set up a time to meet.
Global Citizens
Global
Citizens
Established through a generous gift from BC High alumnus Mr. Lawrence H. Hyde ’42 in 2012, the Hyde Center for Global Education offers one-of-a-kind educational, retreat, and service experiences across five continents. No matter your level of experience and comfort with international travel, we encourage you to apply to our unique Hyde Center programs, and discover the many ways that immersing yourself into the world’s cultures can inspire you to change it.
Explore the world.
Discover new countries, languages, and traditions.
Transform into a global citizen.
Spend two weeks in scenic Lyon, France. Brush up on your French language skills, explore the city’s rich culture and history, and sample the finest in French cuisine at the co-ed Lycée Saint-Marc.
Visit scenic Montreal for a 3-night, 4-day retreat that combines adventure, collaboration, reflection, and hands-on activities for juniors and seniors interested in deepening their leadership skills.
Come together with fellow juniors to build a house for a family living below the poverty line in Belize City. During this week-long service trip you’ll gain construction skills, visit with kids in a daycare center who are struggling with poverty and disease.
During this almost two-week cultural immersion, you will see first hand the collision of Chinese tradition, years of foreign influence, and rapid modernization as you explore the Forbidden City, stroll through Tiananmen Square, and enjoy traditional Peking duck. You'll have the opportunity to hike the Great Wall of China, see ancient Terra-Cotta Warriors and much more...
In this one-of-a-kind adventure program for Arrupe students, you can get to know Costa Rica’s famous coast-to-jungle ecosystem through nine days of kayaking, zip-lining, and treks to volcanos and hot springs. You’ll round out your nine-day adventure with a visit to a local school.
During this week-long service trip, you’ll work directly with a local community to improve access to quality water, visit an orphanage, assist Jesuit ministries at the Haitian border, and stay with a host family to truly experience life in this beautiful islandcountry. This experience is open to juniors only.
Working hand-in-hand with The Working Boys Center in Quito, Ecuador’s capital, you’ll spend a week providing vocational training and life skills to the working children of Quito. This week-long program, open to juniors, offers both retreat and service credit.
Join students from a global network of Catholic schools for the four-day International Student Leadership Conference, held in April in Sheffield, England.
Students studying Greek can spend one week visiting iconic sites such as the Athenian Agora, the Acropolis, and the archaeological site of Delphi. You’ll even get the opportunity to declaim Homer in a Greek theater, see where the apostle Paul delivered a sermon, and walk through the ancient ruins of the Parthenon.
During this two-week academic exchange, you’ll attend classes at Belvedere College, SJ in Dublin and have the chance to explore the literature, arts, history, sport, and culture of Dublin and surrounding areas.
The Rome Latin Seminar invites classics scholars to spend a week in Rome exploring the Colosseum, Vatican Museum, and St. Peter’s Basilica, among other sites. If you’ve always wanted to declaim Cicero in the Roman Forum or walk through the ruins of the Pantheon, this is your trip.
Spend a week living with a host family and attending the Kostka High School, SJ as you learn the rich history of Krakow. You’ll also explore the ravages of the Holocaust through trips to Auschwitz concentration camp and the Oskar Schindler Factory & Museum.
During this two-week retreat in partnership with the St. Ignatius, SJ of Kigali, Rwanda, you’ll experience a country and culture that turned hardship, tragedy, and hate into peace, reconciliation, and love. Juniors and seniors will receive retreat credit for this program.
This two-week collaborative retreat experience with students of Loyola High School, SJ in Dar Es Salaam focuses on spiritual, academic, and personal growth. You’ll stay with a host family to truly experience the customs of this vibrant culture—and the experience culminates with a thrilling safari!
In this ten-day program in Hanoi and Hue, you’ll work alongside Blue Dragon, a local foundation working with street children around issues of human trafficking. You’ll also explore Hue by bicycle, experiment with traditional fishing on bamboo canoes, and learn about Vietnamese farming and cooking.
In this unique two-week program, you have the opportunity to welcome a student from St. George’s College in Harare, Zimbabwe, into your home and school. While this program does not include a visit to Zimbabwe, it is traditionally rated among the most meaningful exchange programs we offer.
Whether it is through dancing the Tango, or visiting a local ranch with real gauchos, students truly feel a part of the lively and welcoming Argentinean culture.
The Guatemala Service Immersion experience partners with Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH USA). Juniors will experience a one week service opportunity serving in an NPH orphanage.
Focusing on our common Jesuit roots, traditions and relationships, we expect this program to introduce participants to the transformative nature of global experiences through building strong relationships within the Jesuit network. During this program, students will stay with host families, participate in a daylong retreat, attend classes, explore both Glasgow and Edinburgh, and engage in St. Aloysius’ outdoor educational program!
Whether you’re eating authentic chimichurri sauce or visiting a local ranch with real gauchos, you’ll get the full Argentinian experience in this month-long introduction to the rich history and thriving culture of Buenos Aires.
The Buenos Aires program includes Spanish classes and language immersion, Argentinian history and culture classes, and weekly excursions both in and around the incredible city. As an exchange student staying with a host family, you’ll get a true inside look at day-to-day life in this stunning city at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean in southernmost South America. You’ll learn the language and customs, eat home-cooked food, and discover just how much two very seemingly different cultures can have in common.
As we offer this program as a true exchange, families are encouraged to host a student from Buenos Aires prior to travel. BC High students have an amazing opportunity to develop strong friendships with their host brothers, who they will stay with while in Argentina. While the Hyde Center makes an incredible effort to provide life-changing experiences for students, most will agree that staying with a host family becomes the most transformational element of this program.
Spotlight
On:
Transformative Hyde Center Programs
Hyde Global Scholars
It is a global path through BC High. By participating in international travel, showing a commitment to a second language, and expanding concrete knowledge on global issues, Hyde Scholars will codify their learning by completing a cohort research project, leading on-campus and community events, reflecting on their personal journey of what it means to be citizens of the world, and receive a Global Certificate.
Pope Francis Scholars
¿ Hablas español? The Pope Francis Scholars are a group of students committed to studying conversational Spanish for three academic years, beginning with the summer prior to freshman year at BC High.
While there will be differences in the way that these students develop their skills, the ultimate outcome is for them to exhibit advanced linguistic proficiency and heightened cultural awareness by the time they begin senior year. Through their enthusiasm and commitment to the study of the language, these students provide critical leadership and serve as role models for their peers in their language classes.
Students will:
Increase their level of conversational Spanish skills by meeting weekly with Spanish-speaking members of our faculty & staff
Enhance their confidence and proficiency in Spanish
Understand their own culture by exploring others
Increase their creativity
Enhance their skills in their traditional Spanish course
As we looked out onto the diminished wetlands, we no longer felt like tourists, but like informed servants for justice in a better society.
