David Benson

David David Benson is the French Voyageur dean (first half). David has been on staff for 22 years and was a villager at Lac du Bois for seven. He led our high school study abroad program in Cameroon in 2008. He is fluent in French and has studied Hausa, Swahili, Fulfulde, Yemba, Malgassy and Pidgin. 

David graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in French and history. He earned his master's degree in African history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he also attained competency in Hausa and Swahili, two sub-Saharan African languages. An avid lover of paddling and wilderness experiences, David has participated in and/or led canoeing and kayaking expeditions in Thailand, New Zealand, Samoa, South Africa, Namibia, Cameroon, Madagascar, Canada, and throughout the United States.

David is currently teaching history at an experiential learning-based high school, the Colorado Springs School.