From June 23 thru July 1, Lake Land College (LLC) is sponsoring an overseas trip. The trip has been in the planning for a few years and was originally set in 2020; however, the COVID-19 pandemic hit and everything worldwide, including events at LLC, were promptly halted. 

Coordinating the trip is Valerie Davis-Lynch, the current vice-president of Student Services. Davis-Lynch began working on campus in 2006 as an outreach advisor for the TRIO Talent Search Program.  In 2011, she was hired as the director of Student Life and eventually was hired in her current position in 2020.

In addition to working on campus, she has also continued her education earning a master’s degree from Indiana State University in Student Affairs and Higher Education.  Furthermore, she defended her thesis and earned her doctoral degree in Higher Education Leadership from Maryville University.

She stated, “The idea of the trip came to being by student leaders in the Student Life Office in 2019. Additionally, other faculty and staff have planned study abroad trips through Lake Land College.  Dyke Barkley has taken multiple student groups to Belize.  Casey Reynolds took a group to Spain.  Another faculty member that used to work at the college planned previous European excursions for students.”

She mentioned, “in addition to myself, Jennifer Melton, Megan Nelson, and Sarah Cothern will all be chaperones.  They are all employed by Lake Land. We are currently expecting 32 travelers.”

In regards to the overseas trip organization, she explained, “I have planned the trip with the help of previous students as well as the chaperones (Jennifer Melton, Megan Nelson, Sarah Cothern, and Ross Lynch).  EF College Study Tours has also been great to work with in the planning of the trip.”

She pointed out, “I think traveling abroad helps to get people out of their comfort zones and to experience the world and other cultures.  Traveling can build confidence and cultural sensitivity.  You can also learn a new language through immersion!”

She exclaimed, “We will not be following a set curriculum for the trip.  Most of the locations we will visit have a historical context and students/travelers will have the opportunity to learn from those experiences on their own. We have an optional excursion to the Cubs vs. Cardinals baseball game while in London.  The Disneyland Paris portion of the trip also makes it fun and unique.”

The participants will fly overnight to England and land at the famous Heathrow Airport in London. On Day 2, the travelers will take a walking tour of London where they will see the Strand (London’s major thoroughfare), Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, Covent Garden and wrap it up with a fish and chips dinner. Day 3 in London consists of a guided tour to see the Big Ben bus, Houses of Parliament, Piccadilly Circus, St. Paul’s Cathedral and Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. The trip will travel westward to a small and historic market town of Windsor, where the travelers will see the Windsor Castle, St. George’s Chapel and Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House. Day 4 of the trip will be in Oxford, England, home to the University of Oxford, the oldest university in the English-speaking world, which was established in 1096. On Day 5 of the trip, the travelers will commute from London to Paris via the Chunnel by taking the Eurostar train. The Chunnel was first used for revenue service on Friday, May 6, 1994. The Chunnel is a 31.35-mile underwater railway tunnel that connects Folkestone (Kent, England) with Coquelles (Hauts-de-France, France) beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. It is the only fixed link between the island of Great Britain and the European mainland. At its lowest point, it is 246 feet deep below the seabed and 377 feet below sea level. At 23.5 miles, it has the longest underwater section of any tunnel in the world, and is the third longest railway tunnel in the world.

After arriving in Paris by the way of the Eurostar train, the travelers will take a walking tour to the Latin Quarter, visit the Notre-Dame Cathedral and enjoy a Seine River cruise. On Day 6, the travelers will take a guided tour of Paris to view the Place de la Concorde, Champs-Élysées, Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower and Hôtel des Invalides. On the second part of the trip, the travelers will commute westward to Versailles where they will see the State Apartments, Hall of Mirrors and Gardens of Versailles. On Day 7 of the trip, the travelers will be in Paris to visit the Louvre, Disneyland Paris, take a walking tour of Montmartre to view the Place du Tertre and Sacré-Cœur Basilica and top it off with a dinner in Montmartre. The travelers will finally head back to the United States on Day 8 of the trip.

Let’s hope for a safe trip and return for the people partaking in the trip.