Three Elgin grads will be leaving their Peninsula homes at the end of the month to travel to New Zealand, where they will be living for a year as teachers' assistant volunteers.

The trio, who played rugby with Elgin and Bayside together, are embarking on the adventure through Lattitude, which has volunteer opportunities in 20 countries for 17- to 25-year-olds.

Spencer Marshall and Gregor Fraser, both 17, are going to the same school, while Conner Dickie, 18, has been placed a few hours away.

Although the teens were attracted to New Zealand because of its rugby reputation, the trip is more than just recreational.

"I just felt I wanted to get out of White Rock," Marshall said. "It felt like it would be a good decision to get out."

For Fraser, it's a chance to mature and gain perspective.

"Definitely learn some (things) about myself," he said.

Personal growth is a large aspect of Lattitude, according to country manager Stuart Sutton-Jones, who stressed the trips are work-orientated, not touristic.

"People are part of the communities – they're not floating on the surface," he said. "They come back changed individuals because they become part of an overseas community."

Lattitude, formerly known as Gap Activity Projects, was started in the '70s in the U.K. as an opportunity for youth to travel in a controlled, safe way.

Close to 1,500 people will be travelling through the program this year in both developed and developing countries, including India, China, Africa, Poland, Ireland and Australia, for three, six or 12 months.

Participants must cover the cost of travel, insurance and any necessary inoculations, as well as pay a fee, which takes care of accommodations and food.

There are volunteering options in environmental work and outdoor education, but the most common placement is teaching English.

Sutton-Jones said Canadian students' ability to speak, write and read English is a valuable, marketable skill.

While countries such as Canada require teachers to be certified – and instead offer Lattitude participants positions as teachers' assistants – volunteers in places like Ghana are often put at the front of a classroom as the sole teacher.

"Eighteen-year-old Canadians are educated to the hilt in international terms," Sutton-Jones said.

The program works for almost anyone, but those who have been involved in sports – in which time management and responsibility are stressed – tend to excel in the environment, Sutton-Jones added.

"They take more readily to it than people who haven't had that experience," he said, noting Lattitude is aimed towards young adults because people tend to travel before entering post-secondary school. "The natural break between high school and university is the easiest time to travel."

Post-secondary institutions have been supportive of the program, he said, as they recognize the benefit of students gaining world experience.

"They know they get a far better undergraduate when they come back."

And while Marshall, Fraser and Dickie will be leaving Aug. 26 and returning next summer, the friends are already planning their return trip to New Zealand – fall 2011 for the Rugby World Cup.

For more information, visit www.lattitudecanada.org