Have you ever wondered what it would be like to go abroad to see a different country? Spectrum students got to do just that. During June of 2024, 25 spectrum high school students and staff had the opportunity to go to Italy. Sight seeing, new foods and meeting new people, they did it all and enjoyed every bit.

Ann Hewitt states in an interview “If you ever get a chance to travel I think that people should do it and go and see this beautiful place and world that’s out there around us and meet some new people and I think that’s probably the best experience.” 

Students that went on this trip express how organized and planned out the trip was, Ella Lynch expresses “The organization was very good on this trip, the teachers all did an amazing job of keeping everyone together, and no one got lost, nothing bad happened, it was just a really great experience for everyone.” 

This trip was loved by all of the students and all of them have different reasons for loving it.

For Grace Biorn, “It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity and I’m glad that I went because I was able to go with some friends and I got to meet people that I’ve never seen around in school.”

Joseph Ambrose expresses his reason for going on the trip. “Social interaction. I like interacting with other people I haven’t met yet. I met a lot of new people there, it was fun.”

Lynch claims another reason for enjoyment of the trip. “The food, the food was really good and also the culture, everyone was super nice and yeah Italy was a really cool place, the architecture, the history everything was super interesting.”

Michel De Haan was one of the staff members on the Italy trip. De Haan shares a piece of advice for Spectrum Students. “I think the biggest thing that I would have is a piece of advice for any Spectrum student that has the opportunity to go abroad while their here is that if there is a program going abroad try to do it because it is a fantastic way to spend part of your summer and a great way to broaden your worldview.”

Hewitt continues to express an enthusiasm for travel. “It’s always really fun just to see the trip and hear about it through the students’ eyes. Things that they got a lot out of it, that just gives me a lot of pleasure.”

The Italy Trip was a fantastic opportunity for many and broadening their world view brought new perspectives to Spectrum.