H-RISE Leadership Program
Human Rights International Service-Learning Education
H-RISE Leadership Program
Human Rights International Service-Learning Education
A Transformational Global Leadership Experience for Students
H-RISE is a yearlong journey for high school students ready to lead with courage, compassion, and a global perspective.
Blending hands-on learning, international immersion, and community-based leadership, H-RISE equips students to become human rights leaders — youth who not only understand injustice, but are prepared to respond to it and help build a world where human rights are a lived reality for all.
H-RISE is for students who are ready to rise: to step forward as thoughtful, informed, and committed leaders in a complex and interconnected world.
Overview
- Join an inspiring group of local high school students who are ready to learn, serve, and lead for human rights
- Engage in a hybrid course to earn the Wassmuth Center’s International Human Rights Leadership Certificate
- Travel to Vietnam and Cambodia from June 2 – 16, 2027 (two weeks)
- Design and lead an impactful human rights initiative when you return to Idaho
Thanks to a generous donor, we are able to offer a limited number of partial scholarships to help make H-RISE accessible to students who would not be able to participate without financial support. If you would like to be considered for a scholarship, make sure to respond to the last question on the H-RISE application.
From the Classroom to the World
The journey begins in the Fall of 2026 with a hybrid online and in-person certificate course that introduces students to the foundations of human rights. Through the lens of Vietnam’s and Cambodia’s rich culture and complex history, students explore key frameworks such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Spiral of Injustice. They engage with the legacy of war and genocide, as well as ongoing efforts toward justice, healing, and reconciliation. Along the way, students develop essential skills in critical thinking, cultural understanding, and ethical leadership. Upon completion, they earn an International Human Rights Leadership Certificate.
Then, in the early Summer of 2027 students will take part in a life-changing, two-week international experience in Vietnam and Cambodia.
While abroad, students embark on a powerful two-week journey through Vietnam and Cambodia, exploring history, culture, and the ongoing pursuit of justice. Along the way, they engage in hands-on service, connect with local leaders, and experience the resilience of communities rebuilding after conflict.
Your Itinerary: From Conflict to Renewal
Dates of Travel | June 2 – 16, 2027
Over two weeks, you’ll trace the arc from conflict to reckoning to renewal — moving through the places where history happened and meeting the people still shaping what comes next.
In Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, confront the legacy of war at the War Remnants Museum, Reunification Palace, and the Cu Chi Tunnels. Then glide through the floating markets of the Mekong Delta, where daily life unfolds on the water.
Crossing into Cambodia, pay respects at the Ba Chuc Tombs and Memorial and stand at the Neak Luong Ferry Crossing, sites that mark the human cost of the Khmer Rouge years.
In Phnom Penh, bear witness at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and Choeung Ek Killing Fields, then turn toward the work of remembrance and accountability at the Documentation Center of Cambodia and the U.S. Embassy.
In Siem Reap, learn about the resilience and artistry of a civilization that endures, touring Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm, then meeting the deminers of APOPO and the Landmine Museum who are literally reclaiming the land for the future.
Throughout, you’ll experience living cultures of Vietnam and Cambodia firsthand — at a traditional dance school, a silk farm, a silver village, and a cooking class with local chefs. You’ll also sit down with survivors, community leaders, NGO staff, and government officials. The two-week immersion will conclude with spending a day at a Cambodian village school where you will roll up your sleeves alongside educators and students in a hands-on service project.
By the end, the journey from conflict to renewal won’t be an idea. It’ll be something you’ve walked through — and helped carry forward.
The Impact Continues at Home
The impact doesn’t stop there. You will return home with a broadened worldview, a deepened sense of empathy, and a renewed commitment to human rights.
Drawing on what you’ve learned, you will collaborate to design and lead a human rights initiative addressing a human rights issue in your local community.
Support Pedals and Packs
More than forty years ago, Cambodia emerged from a brutal regime that resulted in complete destruction of schools. Since then, rebuilding the country’s educational system has been a top priority and considerable improvements have been made.
However, despite these efforts, Cambodia’s education sector remains blemished by limited access to quality instruction, inadequate school facilities and high dropout rates. Access to and completion of primary school remain a pressing dilemma. Getting to a school where students can complete upper grades may mean traveling far from home. Having a bicycle is more than a child’s wish; it is a student’s transportation to his or her future.
Each $75 donation to Pedals and Packs will provide one student in Cambodia with a bicycle and backpack – and one less obstacle on the road to an education.
Featured Video
I knew that education could change lives, but I had never seen it so clearly before. Watching these kids climb onto their bikes, knowing they now had a way to reach school, made me realize how much I take for granted and how hard I want to work to make education accessible for more kids.
-Idaho High School Student