Serving Students: My “Why”
Hi I’m Lora, a high school science teacher with 18 year’s teaching experience. My school is a rural high poverty school in West-Central Indiana. Many of my students have never had the opportunity to travel outside of the state. Several years ago, I set out to give students opportunities to expand their education and thinking, via travel.
Travel, to me, is one of the most important things a student can do to develop empathy for others, global thinking, as well as a desire to learn more. I vividly remember travel experiences from my childhood, and how those experiences shaped my world view. I am the person I am now because I was given the opportunity to travel. And I really love traveling with young people.
Over the years, teaching Biology and Environmental Science, I encountered many students who had never left the state of Indiana. Their worldview was very narrow. When in class discussions included other locations’ plants and animals, my students could not picture, in their minds, the places I was teaching about. It is very difficult to talk with students about tropical rainforests when they have only ever seen cornfields!
Providencia Student Travel proudly offers travel to safe, beautiful, educational locations. All tour guides, drivers, and accommodations are fully vetted. We treat your students as if they are our own. This is an advantage of travelling with a company made up of teachers and moms.
For my students, the biggest barrier to experiencing travel has been two-fold. First, most simply lacked sufficient funds. My students often live in homes below the poverty level. In my opinion, these are the students that need travel the most. Their worldview can be severely limited by poverty. So, we really needed to offer robust scholarships and fundraising packages.
Second, there have historically been few travel companies that specialize in STEM experiences for high school students. The companies currently offering such trips do not allow customization by the teacher. I felt we could be doing better for our students. By collaborating with researchers and hosts working in the countries we visit, our students get STEM experiences that historically are reserved for college students!
Providencia Student Travel was born out of the need to offer students authentic STEM experiences outside of the classroom. We offer our trips to locations that student’s study about in science class. For instance, the indescribably beautiful country of Costa Rica is the most biodiverse locations in the world. Costa Rica offers rainforests, coral reefs, fantastic national parks, mangroves forests, as well as a vibrant cultural experience. By working with local people and researchers, we can offer authentic and educational experiences for our students.
One of the projects in Costa Rica that is dear to my heart is the Blue Carbon Project, dealing with mangrove restoration. Students help local residents in planting mangrove seedlings and collecting seeds to grow into new young trees. We get very wet and muddy! The whole process is an absolutely wonderful time. Costa Rica is a country that is unique in that it is restoring its mangroves. In most parts of the world, mangroves are being bulldozed for development. Mangroves clean the water of sediment, and act as nurseries for baby fish. They are such unique beautiful trees and are to be much appreciated.
Our company, Providencia Student Travel, is a 501c3 nonprofit founded by teachers, parents, and travel experts. We have many years of experience in student travel. The advantage of a small company such as ours is that we offer so many personalized touches. I love being able to craft a unique experience for teachers and students. And parents find we are a very affordable option for their child. As a mom of four children, I understand the sacrifice and dedication it takes to give a child life experience.
Please come travel with us!
I’m really looking forward to working with you in the future.
