In 1996, Shelby Stanger—author, podcaster, and adventurer—joined our Service program in Costa Rica, introducing her to the joys of adventure, cultural immersion, and community service. The experience left a lasting impression, shaping her love for travel and eventually influencing her career in journalism, podcasting, and writing. In this interview, she shares memories from her time in Costa Rica, how it helped build her confidence as a teenager, and the ways it continues to inspire her work today.
You traveled with Putney to Costa Rica in 1996. Can you tell us about your journey since then?
That was 28 years ago, so a lot has happened! In short, I’ve been lucky to build a career around adventure. I studied journalism in college and worked as an adventure journalist and in marketing for several outdoor brands. In 2016, as magazines were thinning, I launched a podcast called Wild Ideas Worth Living, all about adventure. I sold it to REI Co-op in 2020, which led to my book—Will to Wild: Adventures Great and Small to Change Your Life—as well as speaking gigs and more.
I’ve always been fascinated by how adventure builds courage and how nature promotes healing and sparks some of our best ideas. That curiosity has guided my work ever since.
What were some highlights of your experience on the Costa Rica service program?
I know technology has changed a lot since then, but back in 1996, not being able to communicate with my family and spending time with other kids my age—in those days led by college students—was an incredible experience in itself.
I’ll never forget arriving in Costa Rica and meeting the local community. They were so kind, and deeply proud of the nature around them. I loved how much they revered both the very old and the very young and embodied the Pura Vida mindset.
Every Sunday, I organized soccer games for the community. I cut grass and learned to clear an entire field with a machete. I had to speak Spanish, and I loved helping build a fence for the town kindergarten. It was a simple service project, but they were grateful.
And the food was amazing. Dinner was mostly rice and beans every night, but I loved all of it. On the weekends, we went on excursions—sailing, visiting a volcano, hiking in a cloud forest—and I even found someone to lend me a surfboard so I could go surfing.
The nature was mind-blowing. I saw monkeys daily and insects bigger than anything I’d ever seen, as well as grasshoppers the size of my hand and enormous butterflies. The people were fun, too. I was one of the only kids from the West Coast on that program, but I imagine if we’d had social media back then, I’d still be connected with everyone today.
How do you think your Putney experience shaped your future or impacted your personal journey?
That Putney program definitely sparked my love of travel and my instinct to always give back. It also strengthened my passion for adventure and love for Costa Rica.
My sophomore year of high school had been tough—as it is for a lot of 15-year-olds. I’d lost my sense of self-esteem for a bit and felt confused. I also struggled with eating enough food as I was playing on three sports teams at a time and I had lost a ton of weight. In Costa Rica, everything shifted.
I was doing manual labor every day, and I could no longer be picky about food. I was surrounded by other kids who were there to do good and have fun. I also had to do hard things—sleeping on a floor in a sleeping bag for a month, enduring long drives, getting way out of my comfort zone. And I got through it. More than that, I loved it.
I came home that summer full of confidence, healthier, and with a broader perspective of the world. Getting out of your bubble is good for anyone. Getting to travel as a teenager is priceless.
Can you share how your time in Costa Rica is linked to your book?
That experience first showed me that even a small adventure can be a powerful catalyst for building courage and making bigger changes in life. It’s a theme I’ve kept exploring.
Later, when I taught surfing lessons on the side of my newspaper reporting job, I noticed something fascinating. My students would learn to surf, and shortly after catching their first waves, they’d quit jobs that no longer served them, start businesses, finally leave a bad relationship—or start a great one. The ripple effect of adventure kept going and going.
That’s the whole theme of my book: A little adventure can change your life, and the side effects are only positive. In the book, I explore that idea, and I even return to Costa Rica—where I went with Putney, dozens of times—and where, years later, I met my husband.
Tell us more about your podcast!
Wild Ideas Worth Living explores people who have had a wild idea for an adventure and actually pulled it off. We talk about the same themes as my book—the power of adventure to build courage and the power of nature to heal.
We also dive into fear of failure, self-doubt, and what happens when things go wrong (which, on any adventure, they often do). I’ve interviewed famous figures like Alex Honnold, who free soloed El Capitan, as well as incredible people most have never heard of—like a woman who learned to ocean swim in her late 50s and is now breaking records in her 70s, swimming across entire oceans.
What would you say to a high school student who is nervous about joining a summer program abroad?
A little fear is a good thing. It means you care and that you’re about to step out of your comfort zone—which is exactly how you grow.
If you had asked 15-year-old me whether saying yes to my Putney Student Travel program would lead to the career and life I have today, I never would have believed you.
It was a financial stretch for my mom at the time, but to this day, I am so grateful she made it happen. I can only hope to pay it forward and help someone else have the same experience one day.
Want to learn more about our Costa Rica Service program? Click here!
