Kids may resist it in the moment, but parents often see what’s best long before their children do. After participating in a School the World service trip with her company, Brittni Bragg encouraged her son to step outside his comfort zone and sign-up for a trip too. For Owen, a junior at North Andover High School, following his mom’s advice turned out to be one of his best decisions yet.
Mom Goes First
Brittni first heard about School the World through her colleagues at Flywire, a company where service learning isn’t just a perk. It’s part of the culture. Flymates (as employees are known) have been participating in corporate service trips for nearly a decade.
“I heard about how great the trip was from my colleagues who had gone on it,” Brittni recalls. “They came back so enthusiastic about their experience.”
She applied, put together a full slide deck making her case, and got selected. The experience exceeded anything she could have anticipated.
What stayed with her most wasn’t the physical work. It was the people.
“The kids are so cute, so loving, so curious,” she says. “It doesn’t matter where you go in the world. Kids are kids. You can be on a mountain in Panama and kids are still going to act and play like kids.”
She also came away with a deeper perspective on wealth itself. “Even though I grew up low income in the U.S., that’s still very wealthy compared to many other areas. But their wealth was more about community and family. To see the amount of love that community had for each other, parents helping build the school, pitching in. You don’t necessarily see that here. Money really, truly doesn’t make happiness.”
Planting the Seed
When Brittni came home, she did what any enthusiastic convert does: she told everyone. She posted on social media, shared the experience with partner companies through her relationship management role, and perhaps most importantly, told her son Owen.
Owen had a front-row seat to his mom’s preparation and transformation.
“She was learning Spanish on Duolingo before she went,” he remembers. “She was really invested in it. And what she told me about the kids, the experience, the people she got to see, it was really moving to me.”
Still, it wasn’t a small ask. Service learning trips require real fundraising, real commitment, and for Owen, a teenager who had never left the country, a real leap of faith.
“I probably wouldn’t have gone by myself if it wasn’t for my mom,” he says simply.
The Fundraising Marathon (and Chicken Suits)
If you’ve ever wondered how families actually pull off the fundraising side of these trips, the Braggs have a masterclass to offer.
For her own trip, Brittni ran Super Bowl Squares, organized a “Hot Ones”-style wing challenge broadcast across Flywire’s global offices (complete with a chicken suit), and wasn’t shy about reminding leadership to contribute to the cause. “You kind of have to assert yourself a little bit,” she laughs.
For Owen’s campaign, the approach was simpler but equally effective: community. Brittni and her husband posted on LinkedIn and social media, and donations rolled in, including from former Flywire colleagues who had never even met Owen but wanted to pay his experience forward.
“He raised the funds, but he also had the most donors,” Brittni says proudly. “It wasn’t one person dropping a big check. It was a whole bunch of $20 payments. A true community effort.”
Owen credits his mom fully: “She helped me through it. I can’t take all the credit.”
Owen’s Turn: Panama (via a New Lens)
Owen went in as the only student from his school and someone who had to build friendships from scratch while many other students already knew each other.
That turned out to be exactly the growth he needed.
“I kind of had to insert myself,” he reflects. “Everyone already knew each other, so they weren’t as willing to go out and meet new people. But that was a growing point for me.”
The physical work, including hauling cement blocks in 95-degree heat, mixing concrete, and building, didn’t slow him down much. (His mom, laughing: “He’s a gym bro, so it was fine for him.”) But it was the shift in perspective that has stayed with him.
“You hear about third-world countries and how underprivileged they are compared to the States, but I didn’t realize how big of a change it actually is, going from your nice air-conditioned home into classrooms that are outside and don’t really have anything.”
The friendships he made, though, are what he talks about most. “I’m still friends with all of those kids I met. It was really impactful for me.”
Paying It Forward
Back home, Owen is already doing what his mom did: telling everyone who will listen.
“I’ve told all my friends, you have to do this. This is life-changing.” He notes that his school, while active in educational travel, doesn’t offer service learning opportunities that are as immersive and hands-on as School the World. “This is a true missing piece. There’s certainly an opportunity to do more.”
He’d love to see the program reach more students from more schools and towns outside of New England and the Northeast, something that would mirror what he heard from other participants: that the most diverse cohorts create the richest experiences.
Brittni, meanwhile, is already eyeing her niece, a year younger than Owen, as the next Bragg family recruit.
“Just trying to plant the seeds for other people,” she says. “Share the website, get the word out there.”
The Bragg family, Brittni and Owen, are proof that service learning can become a family legacy, even when it unfolds one generation at a time.
Ready to write your own story?
Whether you’re a student looking for a life-changing experience, a family hoping to give back together, or a company that believes service is part of a bigger mission, School the World has a path for you.
→ Visit our Student Service Learning page to explore upcoming trips and learn how to apply.
→ Learn more about our Corporate Service Program and how your team can build culture, develop leaders, and change lives, all at the same time.
Know someone who’d be a great fit? Send them our way.
