YOLA
You Only Live Adventure
ENABLING LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCES FOR THE YOUTH OF INDIA.
The most important gift we can give the developing minds and hearts of teens is a deeper sense and understanding of the world - first hand. One that is not conveyed through media, Facebook, or Youtube clips. One formed for themselves - outside themselves.
The sea, mountains and desert provide training that no institute or university can offer - these landscapes teach the hard, technical skills necessary for survival, but also teach the relevant skills necessary for life.
The lessons they will learn will not be the ones measured by standardized test scores. They can only be experienced by taking controlled risks, moving outside of one’s comfort zone, trying new things, and expanding one’s horizons. Filled with confidence, self-reliance, excitement, and new ideas, our young teenagers will return home with something more to offer – to their schools, to their communities, and to the world.
Our Founders
Capt. Kamal Singh (Shaurya Chakra)
Co-Founder
Kamal has a distinguished career spanning over three decades both in the Military and Corporate sectors. With rich and varied experiences in Engineering, IT, Marine Operations/ Administration/ Training, Consultancy, Project Mgt, Team Development and Strategic Planning at various levels. Commissioned into the Executive Branch of Indian Navy , Kamal Served in the Submarines and was the Second in Command on a frontline guided Missile destroyer. An alumni of National Défense Academy and Defence Services Staff College, he has headed the Naval Training Team at NDA Pune India, training young cadets in water sports such as Sailing, Wind Surfing, Rowing, Kayaking, Boat Pulling and Power boat handling.
He has also worked with Multinational Teams in various geographies around the world. This ignited in him the passion for travel. He has lead teams in Disaster Management situations. He has sound knowledge of Risk Assessment, Hazid, HAZOP and is a lead auditor on ISO 9001/14001and 18001 systems.
An avid nature and adventure enthusiast, he has undertaken Equestrian, Diving, Water and Aero Sports activities( Microlight Flying, Para Sailing, Hang Gliding, Kite Boarding etc), cycling and trekking and is a keen amateur Photographer.
Kamal was awarded the Shaurya Chakra (Third Highest Peace Time Gallantry Award) by the President of India for displaying conspicuous Gallantry while fighting the HPCL Visakhapatnam Refinery Fire in 1998.
Minakshi Agarwal
Co-Founder
Minakshi carries with her over two decades of experience in the travel and hospitality industry. She has pioneered and executed several firsts in India including the first business monthly for the Indian hospitality industry and later instituted the awards which went on to become the "Oscars of the hotel industry".
From launching the first catamaran service in Mumbai for MTDC to launching India as a 'wedding destination' at ITB, Berlin for the Ministry of Tourism, bringing out the first MICE Planner for the country along with the India Convention Promotion Bureau as well as marketing India as a 'cuisine country' at WTM, London - the largest travel market place of the globe - Minakshi has constantly been paving the way for the tourism and hospitality industry professionals.
Her latest venture, in keeping with the times, is on enabling hotels gather green footprints and become zero waste institutions. On the personal front she is an avid reader, prolific writer and an extensive traveler.
Traveling solo to destinations far and wide experiencing the sharks, the myriad stars over the Sahara dessert, haggling across the tantalising souks of Istanbul and Morocco, savouring the tastes of several lands, she is firmly of the belief that travel changes one forever - a mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.
OUR PARTNERS
YOLA is tied up globally with the best-in-class youth travel and education providers who carry with them a wealth of experience and follow rigorous safety and health standards.
We have carefully chosen only those service-providers who share our passion in seeing our youth flourish and grow as well as aspire to the highest levels of best practice and accountability in all that we do.
GLA Global Leadership Adventures
Leadership Development and Personal Transformation are at the core of every GLA program and interwoven in the service, workshops, and excursions. GLA, a global leader, operates only in authentic, non-tourist communities that provide your teen volunteer the opportunity to have a life-changing experience. GLA works only with high school students. The safety standards (The 5-Point Safety System™) and curriculum (The Service Learning Adventure™) are tailored to the growth and development of teens.
Rustic Pathways
A Global leader in international student travel and experiential education since 1983. Rustic Pathways now facilitate more diverse and ambitious trips all over the world - more than 11,000 students traveled with Rustic Pathways in 2018. Rustic was awarded the Best Youth Tour Operator in 2018 by the World Youth Student and Educational Travel Confederation for the third time in four years. Outside Magazine named Rustic one of its Best Places to Work for the past three years.
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Summer Springboard
SSB helps students increase their self-awareness so they can make decisions about college selection, academic majors, and careers that reflect their personal vision for success.The innovative pre-college summer programs, offered at some of the leading colleges and universities of United States including Berkley and Yale combines the benefits of an academically challenging summer experience with tools and frameworks for personal leadership development and self-discovery.
iD Tech
iD Tech is the largest, most trusted tech program in the world, rated as the world's #1 summer STEM educator. iD Tech hosts programs in the top universities on the planet—Stanford, HKU, Imperial College London to name a few — and works with the most highly qualified, passionate instructors from tech companies, and universities like MIT, Caltech, and NYU.