The Big Ben stands high and mighty in London. Photo by Valerie Davis-Lynch.
From June 23 thru July 1, students, faculty and staff from Lake Land College (LLC) embarked on a trip to London and Paris that was three years in the making. Valerie Davis-Lynch, the current Vice-President of Student Affairs, as well as the organizer of the event, states “There were 32 people in attendance. It was a mixture of new students and students from the last few years. The trip was originally slated for May 2020. Due to Covid-19 concerns, it was canceled and rescheduled 3 times (2020, 2021, and 2022).”
Based on travel itinerary, Lynch stated, “We flew out of O’Hare Airport in Chicago on British Airways to Heathrow Airport in London, England. We then took a chartered bus to our hotel in London. We took the Eurostar train from London, England to Paris, France. We used public transportation a lot in both cities to move around (the Underground in the UK and the Metro in Paris). We flew home from the Paris airport to Chicago on American Airlines.”
Megan Nelson, Marketing Publication & Design Coordinator at LLC, was among many faculty and staff that attended the trip. Nelson alluded that the most memorable part of the trip “was when we took an evening boat ride on the Seine River in Paris. I can still hear the collective gasps of awe from everyone on the boat when the Eiffel Tower lit up.” Lynch added “my most memorable experience was visiting Disneyland Paris on the last day of the trip. I am a huge fan of the Disney parks, and this was on my bucket list.”
Claire Carr, who serves in the Student Services Specialist III position, out of the Admissions office since May 2022, attended the trip. Carr stated during the trip, she loved the atmosphere of the group. “I was able to meet new people on the trip. It was my first time traveling aboard as well as flying. I also was able to see the Eiffel Tower in person. It was one thing to see pictures of it, but to see it in person was very exciting. It took two hours to travel from London to Paris by Eurostar thru the Chunnel (the underground segment that connected the UK and France since 1994).”
Moreover, when asked about possible future overseas trips in the upcoming years, Lynch mentioned “Once the Fall semester begins, the chaperones plan to meet together to make that decision for sure. On the top of our list of potential locations is Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Spain. Once we have made a decision, we will advertise that to the students and wider campus community. Please stay tuned for this information in Fall 2023.”
