The Junior Journey provides Prospect Hill Academy high school juniors the unique opportunity to grow personally, academically and intellectually as they near their transition to college. The Junior Journey recognizes that in the expanding global economy of the 21st century, young people need international experience in order to gain a competitive advantage in the workforce. In addition, with the ever-growing Latino population in the US, fluency in Spanish is a key advantage. And finally, meaningful service learning that visibly affects disadvantaged children leaves a long-lasting impact on students as they grow into responsible citizens.
Over 60% of students at Prospect Hill Academy come from low-income families. Many of them represent recent immigrant families and will be the first in their family to go to college. While foreign travel programs are available at independent schools and more affluent districts where parents are able to pay for the expenses, Junior Journey is entirely unique in that it provides urban and mostly disadvantaged youths an opportunity that they would not otherwise have the means to experience.