Ten high school students from Williamsburg Charter School in Bushwick recently returned from a trip to Costa Rica.

Their trip was offered through a program called "Learning Afar," which takes low-income, high-achieving students on international trips and offers them a way to get outside their community. Teachers say exploring the world is an opportunity the students would not normally get.

The students met children in different orphanages and learned about Costa Rican culture. They also went rafting and enjoyed a zip line.

The program hopes the students will return to their classrooms as "global ambassadors" and teach their fellow students and the community what they learned abroad.