Stephanie Mason/ Staff Writer
From venturing deep into the creature-filled jungle to diving into the skeleton infested caves in this small, Central-American country, students in the Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management will be truly embarking on an adventure by traveling to Belize.
Carolin Lusby, CSHTM professor, will be conducting this trip during spring break this year from March 8 to March 17.
The trip is designed for both undergraduate and graduate students in the CSHTM, however, it welcomes any student interested in going.
Nine students will be going on the trip this year.
The course offered for this trip is HFT 3993 Adventure Tourism at an undergraduate level or HFT 5957 Abroad Research Program at graduate level depending on the student.
“Every trip is a little different depending on what we’re teaching, what we’re talking about, but the standard itinerary stays approximately the same,” said Lusby.
During the trip this year, Lusby said students will be participating in numerous activities including very heavy community service, working in the schools with the kids, Myan cooking and farming, exploring Myan archaeology and temples, canoeing, rain forest medicine, coral reef ecology, snorkeling, kayaking and exploring caves.
“It’s a great opportunity; it’s a fun way to get a couple credits,” Teddy McCarthy, graduate student in the CSHTM and one of the students going to Belize, said about the trip.
McCarthy said he is excited “Just to get to see the sights and take in the ‘Belize culture’,” as well as to get, “a greater idea of what adventure tourism is all about.”
The cost for each student is $2969 which is all-inclusive for food, transportation, lodging and activities.
Although it’s her second year conducting the trip at the University, this will be Lusby’s fifth year taking students to Belize.
Lusby started trips to Belize in 2008 and has since become one of the founders of a shared non-profit organization, Climbing Horizons.
“We now raise money for scholarships for local kids, ongoing projects, libraries and now it’s spreading over to the neighboring village so they have a library now,“ Lusby said about the organization.
Although Climbing Horizons is not directly affiliated with the Study Abroad trip, since the organization’s start in 2011, Lusby has incorporated it into the trips.
“The idea to raise funds and to keep giving back came from the students because they wanted to stay involved,” said Lusby.
Christine Joseph, sophomore in hospitality management, said not only will this be her first study abroad trip, but it will also be her first time leaving the country at all.
“I really wanted to just leave Florida, leave the country and the fact that it was a hospitality course just added on to it, but I just wanted to go somewhere,” said Joseph.
“I really don’t even know what to expect because this is unlike anything I’ve ever done so I don’t know what to expect but I know I’m going to come back a brand new person,” Joseph said.
“New experiences, new knowledge that you otherwise don’t learn in the classroom,” is what graduate student in hospitality management, Brett Burgs, said he hopes to gain from the trip to Belize.
Lusby feels that traveling outside of one’s regular environment changes students for the better.
“It impacts students in ways that they can’t really predict beforehand; it really changes them. I’ve seen students overcome fears, overcome self-doubt, self-confidence, building confidence in yourself, changing careers, really having a passion for other people and giving back,” Lusby said.
Although entry to this trip is now closed, Lusby said that she will be conducting another trip to Belize this summer which students can currently apply to attend.
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