Visiting the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. River rafting in Costa Rica. Meeting people from all different cultures and every corner of the world. All before the age of 15. Does that sound like a dream life or what? For Madison Elsner, 9, it is no great dream to wake up in the morning disappointed. She is out there living that dream.

At eleven years old, Elsner was recommended for the People to People Organization. This is an ambassador program where teachers recommend students who are then given a series of tests. After taking and passing these tests, she officially became an ambassador for the program and that’s where the real fun started. “Starting about six months before my first trip, we had a bunch of meetings to get to know the other people I was travelling with,” Elsner explained.

Finally, comes the trip. “My first trip was in Australia. I went with Allie Peterson [also a freshman at AHS]”. It was a 14-day trip but it only took a minute for her to fall in love with the adventure of travelling. Just a few years later she signed up for a trip to Costa Rica and now she is getting ready to see England, Whales, Ireland, and Scotland over the summer.

There are so many experiences you are able to have during the trips including staying with families native to the land, eating a lot of yummy food, learning of the history and culture all around, and just seeing sites most people only see in movies. “Probably my favorite thing I ever did was go to the pool in Australia where the Olympics had taken place. I am a competitive swimmer so it was just really awesome to stand there in real life,” she says brightly.

I don’t think I have ever been so jealous of any one person as much as I am feeling the green bug from Elsner. She has already been well travelled and she hasn’t even graduated. “I learned a lot about myself through these trips. One thing I know is that I really don’t turn away from anything that scares me. I went on that first trip when I was 11 and went without my parents. But I did it any way and I loved it.”