Back Home Again

For our final day in Florida the students split into groups to get in some last minute activities before we boarded the buses for the airports. For our group of thrill seekers, the morning had the highs of riding Velocicoaster one last time, mixed with the lows of Hagrid Motorbike Adventure and the Forbidden Journey both being down. Others hit the CityWalk for some last minute souvenirs, while the reminder enjoyed some rest and relaxation at our hotel.

The buses picked us up and got us to the airport early, and we all made it through security quickly, which gave us time of our last academic activity for the trip: namely the student's elevator pitches. Woven throughout our guest speakers and in park activities was the theme of seeing how others pursued their passions, with the hope of igniting these same passions within the students themselves. For their final elevator pitch, each student had one minute to tell us about their passions, link their own pursuit to something they learned from one of our guest speakers, and share how they would use this to pursue their passions beyond the course. The ideas were distinctive and creative, and I look forward to seeing how these students take these sparks  of inspiration forward in the years to come.

After a slight delay, we were able to board the plane and fly back to Indy. We said our goodbyes at the airport then headed our separate ways. Once again, leading a travel course to Florida was an amazing experience. The students really bonded with each other, the guest speakers we had were amazing, and I think the course achieved all the goals we set out with. I will be reading their final reflections in the upcoming days, and we have one final meeting on campus to share what we learned on March 23rd.

All for now from the blog, thank you for following along with us on our adventures!

Paul Fonstad