Students, faculty and friends of William Woods University are again taking on global travel as a learning experience as the Woods Around the World crew traverses Spain, France and Italy during spring break this week.
Landing in Barcelona, students toured the historic quarter, took in the architecture at Park Guell, attended an Easter Service at Barcelona Cathedral and visited the Picasso Museum before crossing into France.
"Woods Around the World is a unique approach to education that takes the student beyond the classroom and the textbook and into the real world of another culture-out of a classroom of walls and into the classroom of the world," said Travis Tamerius, director of WWU's Center for Ethics and Global Studies.
For many of the students, the trips are made possible by Project 123, a service-based scholarship program. Students who are selected and complete 123 hours of community service are given a stipend to participate in Woods Around the World. Project 123 was created with the generous help of the Lambert Foundation. The goal is to make the opportunity of traveling overseas available to anybody, and the donors strongly believe in the idea of "serving the world to see the world."
In May, students will also be taking a service trip to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, and Woods Around the World recently announced its 2017 tours.
"In March 2017, we will journey to Galapagos Islands and Ecuador for a nine-day adventure in paradise," said Tamerius. "And then, in May of 2017, we'll take a 12-day trip to Australia and New Zealand, visiting two of the most beautiful places on planet earth."
Woods Around the World is in its 10th year. Previous trips have included Peru, the American Civil Rights trail, a Holocaust tour, Italy, France, Scotland, England, Ireland, Greece, Turkey, South Africa, several service trips to an Indian reservation in South Dakota-and most recently, Cuba in January.
"Whether you are traveling across the globe or across the street, traveling is important for so many reasons," Tamerius said. "Traveling is wonderful for feeding curiosity, broadening the mind, developing confidence and cultivating empathy for others. It helps us to become interested in a story other than our own."