Hi everyone! It's September and summer and officially over! :(
Summer is one of those sacred times of year for faculty to determine the next steps of their faculty career. From my dear colleague who is focused on his retirement to new faculty members who are focused on their new research agenda, everyone is focused on renewal. Our department faculty members usually travel to work at state parks, volunteer in the community, and participate in professional development activities.
This summer, we traveled on a study abroad experience to Scotland, Ireland, and England. This was an incredible journey with 17 students from our university. I have not traveled outside of the country for a year and the students were filled with excitement from the end of the spring semester.
The trip to Europe was long and uneventful. We traveled with EF Tours and it was definitely an adventure. Many of our rural students have never traveled outside of the country before this adventure and they learned many new skills along their journey. I was proud of their progress.
During the study abroad experience, I also had an opportunity walk a mile by myself in Ireland. Previously, I have ALWAYS traveled in groups - large groups and small groups. However, when most of the attendees wanted to participate in an activity together and I had to travel back to the hotel to pick up an item - I had the opportunity be independent. I walked by myself across the city to the hotel. This prepared me for another big adventure that I had this summer. Summer 2023 was filled with solo adventure travel for this female faculty member.
We also had an opportunity to view the Book of Kells in Ireland. It was a great experience and the library that housed the book of Kells (the Bible) was one of the most beautiful libraries I've ever visited.
This was my second time to visit the palace in England. There is always a crowd at Buckingham palace and the students enjoyed snapping pictures with the statues.
Who am I kidding? I enjoyed snapping pictures as well! It was crowded and it was definitely an adventure.
I've only heard about it on YouTube from flight attendants, but Primark lived up to its reputation. The clothes were inexpensive, high quality, and were gorgeous! I was very excited to buy professor clothes at Primark!
Overall, we had a great time. The students enjoyed themselves and I did as well. I learned a lot about European culture and I added two additional countries to my list. In fact, I added THREE new countries to my list (more about that later). Another day, another post. ;)
Let me know if you have any questions about traveling with students. They are a trip - literally! I cannot remember the last time that I laughed so hard. Traveling with rural students enables them to be themselves while experience a whole new world.
Until next time!
J. Edwards
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Sincerely,
Dr. Jennifer T. Edwards
Professor of Communication
Executive Director of the Texas Social Media Research Institute & Rural Communication Institute
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