Travel Opportunities for Westerville Students

 COVID-19 has definitely had an impact on the plans for the Westerville Travel Club this year and maybe even next year, in the sense that anything could change. 

There are changes for this summer’s trip already; they were planning on going to China for the first time this summer; but due to COVID-19, it has now changed to The Galapagos Islands and Ecuador from Monday, July 18, 2022 through Thursday, July 28, 2022.

During those 11 days, the group will do a lot of hiking, boating, snorkeling, and a lot more. To find out more information about the trips visit the EFtours website. 

A social Studies teacher and leader of the travel club, Lisa Baughman has led the travel club on 12 tours, starting in 2012. 

Traveling especially for young people helps with confidence, and gets you out of your comfort zone, according to EFtours.com.

Learning about different cultures is important because it can also enrich one’s understanding and perspective of others; it helps influence values, hopes, and adapts to globalization, according to Greenhearttravel.com. 

Baughman said, to understand the different cultures and experiences, the Westerville Travel Club has keynote speakers talking about the environment, culture, education, and more. On their tour of Iceland, the president spoke to the travel group about the future of energy.

Also, according to Baughman, the club has done cooking classes, gone to factories and museums, and always toured interesting places. 

“We spend most of our time visiting tourist attractions, usually historical sites, and trying genuine local cuisine,” senior and travel club member from South, Erin Coonfare said.

  Another senior and travel club member also from South, Lili Malone said her favorite country she has been to is Iceland.  She said, “The prettiest is Iceland.  All of the houses are painted with bright colors, and there are glaciers everywhere.  It was an amazing experience. You know climate change melts the glaciers, and I got to see them before they melted. I will never take it for granted.” 

Baughman said her favorite places to visit are the personal and local places like the schools, to see everyday life in different countries and learn about their culture and experiences. 

Her favorite country she has traveled to is China. Baughman said she loved,  “The uniqueness, culture and how it’s such a different experience than what we are used to.”

With the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, Baughman has done lots of research for the new policies on traveling for the upcoming tours.  According to Baughman, when traveling during Covid, one must be vaccinated, and some trips will require a negative test prior to your flight.  In addition, she said wearing a mask is also expected. 

The three Westerville high schools collaborate to plan the tours with a company called EF tours; this company designs and plans the tours by creating the daily schedules.

According to  EF tours website, they help out with setting up the tour so that the teachers can educate the students while traveling and not have to worry about other things.  Baughman said there are usually 15-20 students that attend the tours from Westerville.

The travel club is also a great way to make friends around the world, Malone said, “You get paired with other school tour groups, like someone from the middle of Arizona or different church groups and you meet up and make friends from all over the country, I have made friends with people in California and Texas, I traveled with them and roomed with them and we now have a close connection.” 

Anyone from the three Westerville High schools is eligible to go on these tours. To get involved, there are enrollment meetings in terms of the trips themselves, students go to the meetings to learn the safety protocols, packing tips, and payment plan options, according to Baughman.

To enroll in the tours, students can go to the meetings or talk to Baughman; her room is now 210.  She also stressed the importance of following up with the payments and paying attention to updates to ensure preparation for the tours.  According to Baughman, students have 110 days before departure to enroll. 

Baughman normally pushes the tour’s promotions two years in advance. She said, “We do big pushes in the fall and then in the spring. When we start to publicize the tours, there will be more information on the announcements and in the hallways.”

There are so many places they have traveled to such as Iceland, Japan, New Zealand, Peru, Germany, France, and many more.  Baughman said they plan to travel to even more countries and expand the club. 

Even with these obstacles of the pandemic, they are still figuring it all out. Students join travel clubs not just to travel but to learn.