Testimonials
(My daughter’s) time in London and Paris was more of a journey than a trip because it was truly a Study Abroad experience. The preparation required her to stretch academically and personally. She was not packing for a leisure trip; she was readying herself for an important life step, getting ready to leave home and encounter the greater world on her own wits, albeit within the safety of a group and for a limited time.
The course-like structure made them responsible for their growth. Instead of just a travel abroad trip, where they might glance at a historical marker, they had to get out of the bus and really experience the significance of the city. In other words, the students had skin in the game.
The Knowledge Travels Study Abroad program was an investment in our daughter that resulted in a great appreciation of travel through a thoughtful, well organized trip of a lifetime.
The trip-as-course framework provided an outline through which our daughter was able to dive much deeper into her travel-abroad experience. It gave her a motive to find context and meaning in the places she visited. She experienced London and Paris as a participant, rather than just a spectator.
As a parent who saw many of the presentations, I saw a group who took away their own personal experience and could clearly articulate their unique and individualized experiences.
Before taking the A Tale of Two Cities Study Abroad trip I was never sure how to go about studying the world and all its complexities. The world seemed like a concept out of reach and to enter it would be like a dream. After taking this trip, this is no longer the case.
There was London and Paris, together providing me with just one example of the world’s complexities as I researched their interlocking histories. I now find myself thinking more critically about how the world is presented to me, especially by those in power. People, history, and modern trends are amazingly complex and the course-like structure of the Study-in-Residence helped me process it through one amazing trip.
The Knoweldge Travels Study Abroad program was amazing. My daughter has traveled overseas on sponsored trips four times. Hands down, the Dickens Study Abroad trip was the most educational and her favorite.
She was held accountable to read and study before going on the trip, and she was held accountable to complete a presentation when she returned home. She also learned how to navigate around London and Paris. My daughter had to learn how to use mass transit in a foreign city. This trip was a fabulous experience and she definitely gained a lot of independence and self confidence.
I would highly recommend this experience. I have no doubt my daughter will take advantage of a study abroad program in college, and I have no fear of her going. She is now an experienced “world traveler” and I feel confident she can “hold her own” in a foreign country.
