“If you could go anywhere in the world for free, where would you go?” That was the question Cidney Farley asked her English class of middle school girls during a warm-up writing prompt. But one student struggled with the answer. When she finally answered, Farley was shocked to learn that her all-expense-paid dream trip was to the department store Macy’s.
“This is worse than I thought,” Farley recalls thinking. “Many of my students had never left Houston, their neighborhoods, and they weren’t exposed to many things. That’s when the initial seed was planted so I could do something about it.”
Farley, an educator with Teach for America (TFA) at the time, sprang into action. She created a leadership program at her school that allowed her to take a group of middle school students to Atlanta, Georgia. The trip became a core memory for students — many of whom left Texas and traveled by airplane for the first time. Farley took them to tour historical sites in Atlanta, including the iconic World of Coca-Cola, where they learned more about the beloved all-women’s HBCU, Spelman College.
“I remember their minds were blown, especially because they were already attending an all-girls middle school,” says Farley. “When you travel, you know what it does for you as an individual, but I witnessed that through the students’ eyes. You could see their eyes wide open and reimagining where they want to go and what they want to do next in life.”
Students Traveling Abroad Inspired iFly Youth
After TFA, Farley moved to Abu Dhabi to teach sixth-grade math. During her two years abroad, she traveled to 15 countries. As an educator, she could quickly spot student groups in the crowd. But one thing stood out—hardly any students of color were among them.
When Farley moved back to the United States, she set her sights on volunteering for an organization dedicated to helping students, especially students of color, travel the world. But she couldn’t find one that aligned with her calling. So in 2017, she started iFly Youth.
iFly Youth aims to empower middle school girls of color to become global leaders through international travel and community building. The organization prioritizes girls who might not otherwise have the opportunity to travel due to financial barriers. During the organization’s first trip in 2018, 10 middle school girls were part of the inaugural cohort. The Summer 2025 cohort will include 20 students.
“We’ve grown in size and programming,” says Farley. “Our program has transformed into a summer camp. Before the students go abroad, we do a three-week summer camp in Washington, D.C. The program helps them prepare for the trip with language lessons, self-esteem building, and leadership development. The program is a total of four weeks with the trip.”
To be eligible for iFly Youth, girls must be in sixth, seventh, or eighth grade in the Washington, D.C., metro area at the time of application. There is no GPA requirement. The program prioritizes students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, those who have never flown on a plane, and those without a passport. Applications typically open in January, and applicants must submit a personal response and a video answer to a question.
What’s Next For iFly Youth
Students who complete iFly Youth’s summer program often want to reapply. Farley hopes to expand the program to keep these inspired girls engaged beyond the summer. To Farley, their enthusiasm highlights the importance of organizations like iFly in shaping the next generation of global leaders.
“There’s a saying, ‘You can’t be what you can’t see.’ You don’t know what exists out there unless you are exposed to it. You also don’t have certain opportunities if you don’t know about them,” says Farley.
Farley’s program has proven to prepare girls for the next phases of their lives. A student from her first cohort has interned with iFly Youth, helping young girls confidently pursue opportunities in high school, college, and beyond.
