Every year, Woodgrove offers students the chance to go on trips all over the world. Multiple groups organize multiple trips, giving students a variety of opportunities to travel the globe. Many trips are at low cost to students and give them a once-in-a lifetime opportunity to travel with their peers and friends. Last year, locations included the Galapagos Islands, Italy, and France.
One of these trips, the London and Paris trip, is a union between the AP Literature and AP Government classes, organized by Mrs. Diana Shea and Ms. In Sim. The trip focuses on visiting iconic landmarks in both countries, such as the British Museum in the UK and Giverny in France. There is a mix of planned activities to these locations and individual activities, giving students the opportunity to visit places that interest them specifically. Free time in between activities is available to explore the less mainstream locations.
A total of five seniors will be attending the Paris and London trip. One of those students, Iman Etienne, has been learning French for over six years and has never been to Europe before. She commented, “This is my first time on a trip like this, and I’ve never been on a trip without my family before. I’m excited to have an opportunity to use my French skills, and, as an aspiring architecture major, London and Paris have many architectural wonders that intrigue me.”
More things that Etienne is looking forward to the most are Monet’s Gardens and Giverny. “As an artist myself, Monet’s work has been a huge inspiration,” she said. Something that scares her, on the other hand, is the flight there. “I’m pretty worried about the airport, as they’re usually pretty chaotic.”
This trip to London and Paris follows up the Global Ambassadors trip to France last fall, which received many positive comments. The sponsor of Global Ambassadors, Mr. Matthew Talboo, is the chaperone to the Estonia trip later this month. Meant as a capstone activity, the trip takes eight students, mostly seniors but some juniors, and gives them the opportunity to teach English to Estonian students. Talboo is also considering trips to Germany, Italy, and the yearly France trip for the 2026 school year.
Trips can be a great opportunity for students to expand their horizons. Senior Patrick Lyons, who attended the 2024 fall trip to France, looked back on the valuable experience, saying, “The France trip gave me the opportunity to live independently in a different country for 10 days and allowed me to meet hundreds of people that I wouldn’t have had the chance to interact with otherwise.” School-organized trips allow students to interact with other cultures within the comfort of a familiar, planned environment, the perfect stepping stone to future international travel.