Study Abroad Inspires, Adds Depth to Learning

Faculty-led study abroad can be one of the best forms of experiential education. It's a big lift for faculty who plan and prepare for months before they commit to the time away, and yet it's so worth it and worthy of our support.

For example, it directly invites students into faculty expertise and experience, as faculty share their own "aha" moments from research, and we all realize there are always more questions to be asked, more to see, and more to try to understand.

Last week, I joined Trinity University undergraduate students and professors Rubén Dupertuis , Ph.D. , dean of the Carlos Alvarez School of Arts and Humanities, and Chad Spigel , Ph.D. , the Jennie Farris Railey King Professor of Religion, on their Trinity in Italy field trips to Pompeii and Herculaneum, both active archaeological digs and busy tourist attractions. Their expertise added a whole new layer to my understanding.

We also heard from students presenting their research at specific locations. Is it too much of a pun for me to say their knowledge and preparation blew me away? After the group visited Herculaneum, Brannon Denby, a rising junior from the small town of Center in East Texas, delivered a presentation about the ramifications of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius on Roman life in general and how the pagan society of the time thought the massive catastrophe was the act of one god against a goddess he was beefing with.

Brannon is double-majoring in neuroscience and religion-combinations of majors, no matter how disparate the topics seem, are encouraged at Trinity-and he plans to go to medical school. The Trinity in Italy program, which included three weeks in Rome and about four days in Pompeii and Herculaneum, gave him and other students a chance to experience life as Italians and soak in the culture. There was no sitting in classes, not even part of the time.

"Every day, all day, we were exploring, fully immersing ourselves in museums, archeological sites, learning what the religions in first-century Rome and Rome in general were like," he said. One day, while in Rome, he decided on a whim to take a 20-minute walk to the Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica, and just happened to walk into mass being delivered by Pope Leo XIV.

Looking through the lens of a religion major, Brannon said he realized how alike most religions are. "A lot of religions are blended from one another; they all come from similar practices," and a person's identity often leads them to a religion where they feel like they belong, he said.

And a lesson he'll take with him, even into medicine, is respect and appreciation for different cultures, which, he said, will help him create a comfortable, safe space for others.

I also noticed the care and sensitivity our professors showed in reminding us that the exquisite preservation we saw at both sites came at the high cost of human lives lost to the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. Thus, it felt like a bit of a tribute to those lives-as well as the contributions of the scholars and teachers whose work helps us better understand the ancient Roman world-to walk those streets and peer into the past alongside inspired students, all of us eager to learn more.

More than 100 Trinity University students are studying around the world this summer through Trinity-sponsored programs, supported by the Center for International Engagement. They're going on long excursions to Mexico, Spain, China, and Japan, and making shorter trips to Iceland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Sicily, Italy. I'm grateful to all the faculty and staff who make these rich learning experiences possible, and I'm excited for the students who go. They're enriching their education and their lives, and they're bringing knowledge back to campus, which enriches us all.

You can read more about their trips here , and keep watching our social media for updates from abroad.