Travel Prep and Planning Now: Benefits For Students and Teachers

At EdOdyssey, we believe that travel changes people, and people change the world. We know that students experience travel differently at different points in their lives, and educators and school communities play a pivotal role in showing their students the meaning of these experiences.

Visiting a foreign country invites people to pursue new experiences and adopt different viewpoints of the world. Like students, travelers are always learning new things and pondering how their new knowledge fits into their lives.

Travel plays a pivotal role in any student’s experience. School trips add a more adventurous and interactive side to course material. As students grow older and prepare for life after graduating from high school, it is important to provide them with formative experiences that leave a lasting impact afterward and further promote their personal growth.

As avid travelers and educators ourselves, we believe that traveling to a different country can provide students with exactly these experiences, and we believe that you - teachers, parents and communities - can make them happen.

Beginners in student travel, or global student travel experts, have an opportunity to plan to expand classes into a global setting. Now is the perfect time to learn how to develop or be a part of the moment to enhance your school’s experiential learning programs abroad, and you’ll see the long term benefits of preparing and planning for student travel.

YOUTH TRAVEL STARTS EARLY

What do you imagine when you see the phrase “Youth Travel?” A group of twenty-somethings backpacking in foreign countries? College students studying abroad for a semester or two?

While a lot of people travel in their late teens and early twenties, youth travel begins before then in high school.

Young people start traveling before they head off to college and become young professionals. According to the World Youth Student and Educational Travel Confederation (WYSETC), young people make up 23% of international airports around the world!  This survey includes people as young as 15; high school students are among the millions of young people traveling abroad.

High school students also made up a majority of the young people surveyed about their interest in international experience earlier this year. According to data from Statista, over 10,000 of the 18,000 total participants stated that they wanted to experience travel abroad! From the same survey, 8,000 students also said that they were very interested in a study abroad or international exchange program.

Even during a time of travel restrictions, it is important to keep a global perspective and continue planning for international trips for the future. After thousands of students were sent home earlier this year, Ahmad Ezzeddine, the Associate Vice President of Educational Outreach and International Programs of the National Association for Foreign Student Affairs (NAFSA: Association of International Educators) said about the worldwide nature of the current situation:

“It’s a perfect example of how everything we’re dealing with has a global nature. It’s why we need to continue to invest in study abroad and the international experience.”

ADVANTAGES OF SECONDARY SCHOOL TRAVEL

The excitement of adventure does not end after the trip is over - students bring home new experiences and memories that will last a lifetime! The impact that travel has on them during the trip stays with them and can benefit their success in high school and beyond. 

Exploring a different part of the world challenges students to approach topics from new perspectives.

Travel also grants students an opportunity to develop their own viewpoints. Their experiences in a different country are perfect to make their college applications stand out! Each student interprets travel experiences differently, and their unique stories can distinguish them from other applicants and wow the college admissions officers!

Bringing students abroad in high school inspires them to keep traveling and learning on their own beyond the educational setting! A 2016 survey focusing on youth travel states “28 percent of students who travel take more than one trip per year and those traveling between ages 10 and 18 are more likely to return to the destination later in life.” (Peltier and O'Brien 5 Charts Showing Student Traveler Preferences in the U.S. and Abroad)

WHY PLAN NOW?

Just because travel is on hold doesn’t mean that planning has to be. This is the perfect time to plan a trip abroad. This fall, EdOdyssey is hosting its first-ever Global Student Program Certificate for Educators course. Teachers, administrators, and faculty will have a chance to learn skills to develop, market, and enrich school trips abroad.

You’ll have the chance to take any of your benchmarks, your learning objectives, and your content area’s curriculum to infuse them into the design of your program for almost any theme and content area(s). As educators ourselves, we’ll show you how we build a trip that also functions as an academic program that prioritizes student learning while still creating a fun, enriching program.

Pick and choose from different modules, and get certified after completing the entire program. With the right travel planning and management skills tailored for you, you will be able to make international trips a reality for you and your students.

As Matthew Wolfe, an EdOdyssey featured traveler, wrote about his experience abroad, “Being able to see the world from a completely different perspective in another country is an opportunity that you simply should never pass up.”

To explore more about the benefits of travel prep and planning now, learn more about The Four Major Benefits Of Customizable Programs!

Ready to start planning?

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Sources

Duffin, Erin. “Interest among Students about International Experiences by Type U.S. 2020.” 

Statista, 13 July 2020, www.statista.com/statistics/985046/interest-among-students-international-experiences-type.

Peltier, Dan, and James O'Brien. “5 Charts Showing Student Traveler Preferences in the U.S. 

and Abroad.” Skift, 15 July 2016, https://skift.com/2016/07/15/5-charts-showing-student-traveler-preferences-in-the-u-s-and-abroad

Rifai, Taleb. “Facts and Stats.” WYSE Travel Confederation, 2020, 

www.wysetc.org/about-us/facts-and-stats/.

Toner, Mark, et al. “Internationalization, Interrupted.” NAFSA, 1 Apr. 2020, 

www.nafsa.org/ie-magazine/2020/4/1/internationalization-interrupted. 

Turning Youth Travel into Study Abroad: Sarah's Story

My name is Sarah Shorter and I’m really excited to be a content writer and curator intern with EdOdyssey this summer! During my first three years at the College of the Holy Cross, my double major in Anthropology and Latin American, Latinx, and Caribbean studies has increased my appreciation of global cultures. This interest led me to study abroad with EdOdyssey in Lima, Peru, where I matured academically, socially, and personally.  

Me competing in Austria!

Photo Credit: Synchrophoto.eu

PASSION FOR TRAVEL GROWING UP

Since my youth, I have had the privilege to travel throughout the U.S. and to numerous parts of the world. A large portion of my travel, particularly internationally, was to competitions with my synchronized ice skating team. The main focus of these trips was always the competition, yet my team would often have a few opportunities to explore the city we were visiting before the competition began. 

For five years, I was incredibly fortunate to compete on behalf of Team USA in 7 countries across Europe, Asia, and North America, expanding my global perspective. Visiting and competing in other countries not only enabled me to view different cultures and societal differences, but it also was a unique opportunity to connect with people around the world who share the same passion as me. At competitor parties and banquets, the love of synchronized skating connected people from very different backgrounds.

Having extensively traveled for skating and taken some family trips to Europe and other regions of the U.S., I was ready to channel my inner anthropologist and plant myself during my junior year of college in a completely new country, not as a tourist, but as a global citizen. 

My goal was to not only SEE the differences and similarities that Peru has with my home of Lexington, Massachusetts, but to actually LIVE and UNDERSTAND them. I wanted to truly become a part of the community. 

Visiting Machu Picchu with EdOdyssey!

STUDYING IN PERU

Having learned a lot about other cultures and various aspects of Latin America through my two majors, I was drawn to the idea of studying abroad in Peru. The well organized and supportive program which EdOdyssey has in Peru made my decision to study abroad in Lima much easier. It also helped me convince my parents that I should spend a year

I distinctly remember my pre-departure phone call with the EdOdyssey team in Lima. I hadn’t spoken Spanish in about 6 months and I was sweating from nerves as I got on the call. Yet when the call ended and my Dad asked me how it went, I was enthusiastic, excited, and confident that I would be totally fine when I got to Lima the next month.

The Lima team: Patty, Luis, and Narda, are the absolute BEST! 

Celebrating my host parents’ 50th anniversary

THE PERUVIAN EXPERIENCE

Once I got over some fears and embraced all the unknowns and unfamiliarities that defined my new home of Lima, Peru, becoming a global citizen is exactly what I did! During my 7 months in Peru (before COVID unfortunately frantically had me packing to come back to the states), I learned to dance salsa, to use Peruvian slang, and to embrace “Peruvian time”. 

I became friends with Peruvian classmates, and bonded with my host family. Having had this incredible experience, in large thanks to the EdOdyssey team, I am immensely grateful to be able to continue to work with EdOdyssey. Traveling and engaging with different cultures, peoples, and places is an invaluable privilege and opportunity. 

Enjoying the Sand Dunes during EdOdyssey’s Ica excursion!

One of the greatest things I learned in Peru was that being courageous, taking chances, and following your passions will lead to some of the most rewarding experiences. As I look ahead to my future after college, I hope to get the chance to live abroad again. I am still discerning what my future plans will be, yet I have no doubt that the lessons I learned in Peru will be an integral part of anything I pursue. 

Do you want to learn a bit more about the special EdOdyssey team members who made my experience in Lima a brilliant one?

Be sure to check out the blog Q&A: Meet EdOdyssey’s Local Team in Lima, Peru to learn more about the amazing team that supported, guided, and challenged me throughout my time abroad!