Greece was not the first destination to be chosen. Peru and South America were also considered.
“I wanted students to see the culture, and Greece is beautiful,” BHS counselor Karmen Wahl said. “It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for students to do something on their own without their parents.”
Attending this trip means students can receive half a credit and gain the experience of traveling to a different country.
“Learning to travel alone, organize, plan, and work with others gets students out of their bubble and fosters the ability to think broader and ask broader questions,” Wahl said.
The trip was organized through Education First (EF) Tours, which is an educational travel company. Bismarck Public Schools does not sponsor the program.
“They (EF tours) reached out to me multiple times, and I saw that they have been in business for a long time,” Wahl said. “The company is widespread, which means they have a large variety of choices and destinations.”
With the 30 spots available, there are opportunities to help cover the cost. 3 spots are confirmed.
“Another special will come in the first week of February with $300 off the original price,” Wahl said. “My travel group is planning on selling pizzas, doing car washes, bake sales, and selling concessions. Whoever works can split it up between those people, and it can go towards the trip.”
Every year, scholarships are given to students to help pay for the trip. In total $100,000 is awarded. Students can receive a fraction of the scholarship funds if they successfully describe why they want to attend the trip.
“There is an EF global scholarship where the application requirement is to submit a video,” Wahl said.
In order to attend, students must pay a $95 enrollment deposit with a 7-day refund policy.
“It is to hold the students’ spot and give them time to communicate with their parents on how they plan on paying for it,” Wahl said.
The trip will cost $5,189, with $300 payments made monthly for 17 months.
The goal of the trip is to have an academic and personal impact on students.
“The opportunity to be able to go out of the state and see a place as beautiful as Greece is what made me interested in going,” BHS sophomore Madison Morey said.
Students will go to various places such as the Acropolis, Delphi, and Olympia.
“The place I am most excited to visit is Thessaloniki because we are going to be taking a cooking class, and that really interests me, and it sounds fun,” Morey said.
The opportunity to travel outside of the U.S. brings new things to look forward to.
“Traveling with classmates, especially those I am friends with, makes this trip much more meaningful because I will get to share the experience with others and not only myself,” Morey said.