The Culture Club is back to traveling since Covid-19, the 2023 Costa Rica trip was the first trip since, and many more are to come.
According to Shelley Thornton, the Fair Grove High School Spanish teacher, the purpose of Culture Club is, “To provide educational travel opportunities for students and families.” Thornton adds that these trips can be the highlight of a student’s high school career.
Every summer, Culture Club takes an international excursion. All students interested are welcome and there are no requirements or classes you need to have to join. These trips usually last around ten days. Over a year before the trip, meetings begin and the talk about fundraising starts.
Fundraising is a big deal when it comes to planning these trips. Thornton stated, “…we work hard to make these trips affordable, provide lots of opportunities to fundraise, and cover the stressful planning details so anyone who wants to go, can go, and have a wonderful experience.” Both Hannah Bruner (12) and Michelle Wahlquist, English teacher at Fair Grove, have said that these trips being so affordable has definitely added to their experience.
Bruner described how traveling to Costa Rica with the Culture Club was a highlight of her high school experience. She later commented, “Not only did I get to travel to a place that I don’t think I would have gotten to visit if it wasn’t through the school, but I got to do it with my friends. It was an amazing experience, and not only did I have fun, but I felt safe traveling with the school and EF Tours.”
Thornton encourages students to take these trips because of the memories they can make. Bruner said her favorite memory was hiking to a waterfall. She explained, “My favorite memory of the trip was hiking in [La Fortuna] to the waterfall. We spent the whole morning swimming in the waterfall, after walking 500 steps to get to it, and to get back up. But, every step was worth it.”
(left to right): Isaac Walters, John Thomas Hampton, Group Leader Shelley Thornton, Piper Logan, Hannah Bruner, Kadence Cooper, Hanne’ Ghanem, Lauren Thomlinson. (photo provided by Shelley Thornton)
Wahlquist expressed how when on these trips with the Culture Club, she loves to experience these moments through a student’s point of view. She stated, “Each trip had its own highlights and I love to travel to different parts of the world and view it from the student perspective.” Wahlquist added, “It is exciting to see students’ eyes light up (or tear up) when they see the pyramids or the Eiffel Tower. I have learned and seen so much from these experiences.”
Thornton and the Culture Club have been providing opportunities for students to create memories while traveling the world. Bruner speaks from experience when she said that she would love to go on another trip, if given the opportunity.
The upcoming trips are Greece in July 2024, Iceland in March 2025, and Japan in June 2025. There is currently space available on the spring break tour to Iceland and the Japan tour. If anyone is interested in joining Culture Club they can get into contact with Thornton for more details.
