This past weekend a group of exchange and international students went on a trip to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, organized by the Education Abroad office.
On Oct. 13 to 15, the Education Abroad office took 40 study abroad, international students and scholars for a trip to Wyoming for sightseeing. During the three-day long journey they had a chance to explore Jackson Hole, Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks.
“A lot of students want to go to Yellowstone while they are here. One student on this trip said she chose Wyoming just because of Yellowstone. So it was really important for her to see that,” Sara J.V. Robinson, coordinator and student advisor at Education Abroad office, said. “I think everyone had a good time. At least, everybody says they enjoyed this trip.”
An annual fall trip to Yellowstone today started as part of the cultural program for sponsored students, organized by Shawn A. Bunning, project coordinator for International Programs office.
“I’ve been taking my sponsored students since I’ve started working here, which was in 1999. It’s been a while. I think there were few trips to Yellowstone, but they were not annual and regular. It was something that we provided as a cultural excursion for our sponsored students programs,” Bunning said. “I used to organize the variety of different things, but the Yellowstone trip was sort of the crown jewel of all the trips we used to plan. It’s a long trip that takes three days.”
The small excursion for a few students became an annual trip providing an opportunity to see Wyoming’s famous sights, growing to almost 50 people from the UW international community in a few years.
“It used to be me and a van with as many students as I could take. And if we had enough student participants who were interested in going, then I found another driver, we took another car, or two, or three,” Bunning said. “I think the largest trip I had before we moved to a bus was four vehicles riding to Yellowstone. They were eleven-passenger vans full of students.”
Robinson says, “When I’ve started working here we expanded the trip and included exchange and study abroad students. We made this trip annual. Firstly, we invite exchange and study abroad students and some scholars, who are visiting on campus for short periods of time, as a part of the cultural program. And then, if we have space available, we can allow some degree seeking international students to come with us as well.”
There is another regular trip, which is held every spring semester and gives visiting students the ability to explore Mount Rushmore, Devils Tower and Crazy Horse as an alternative to Yellowstone National Park.
“In the fall we are taking a group of students to Yellowstone, and then in the spring we go to Mount Rushmore, Devils Tower and Crazy Horse, because usually in the spring Yellowstone isn’t opened yet. If the semester here went later then we could probably go to Yellowstone both semesters,” Robinson said.
Yellowstone and Rushmore trips give UW visitors a chance to visit famous sights and learn more about the nature and history of the US.
“I think it’s a good opportunity for students, because it’s really cheap and well-organized in advance. It’s a great opportunity for all international students, as it’s really hard for them to do and see sights if they don’t have a car. I like the way Education Abroad office organizes these trips, because you can see the most essentials of the national parks, and other historical places just in three days,” Saverio Zappacosta, an exchange student from Italy, said.
