The UTM Travel Study programs are meant to instill a sense of wonder in students by exposing them to new cultures and lifestyles.
“To see them [the students] get excited and put money down, apply for a passport, go get shots if they need them for the particular country, and then they go on the trip, it becomes a huge success when they come back with their mouth hanging down to their ankles because they’re just in awe of how wonderful it is,” said Mike Sudzum, UT Martin’s Travel Study Consultant.
The Travel Study programs for this academic year include domestic trips to Washington, D.C.; Seattle, Washington; California; and the Tennessee New Pacers Tour. International trips include Ecuador, Guatemala, Italy, Paris/Normandy, London/Paris, Belize, Spain/Portugal, Germany, Japan and the Czech Republic. The Travel Study programs run continuously from August 2014 through July 2015.
“Travel study has an academic credit component attached to it,” said Lorrie Jackson, Travel Study Coordinator. “So all the professors organize their program based on their own syllabus, so not one or two are ever going to be the same.”
Payment for Travel Study trips are often an issue for some students. Fortunately, there are several ways students can help defray some of the exenses. For example, students may apply for the Student Government Scholarship, sponsored by the Student Government Association. The basic qualifications for receiving this scholarship are being a full-time UTM student in good academic standing. In addition, students may opt to use money from their refund checks in order to pay forward to the travel study trip.
“I think the benefits can be huge depending on what your future endeavors are, because [travel study] has become such a global business,” said Mike Sudzum.
If you have any further questions and/or are interested in being a part of the Travel Study program, contact the faculty group leader(s) listed with the desired destination, or contact Lorrie Jackson at 731-881-1023 or by email at ljackson@utm.edu.
