Part of the transformative educational experience that Monmouth College provides is the opportunity to study abroad.
For those who wish to do so in smaller doses than an entire semester in a foreign country, the college offers trips of a week or two a few times a year, including in the days immediately following Commencement in May.
Last May, 19 students participated in a 10-day trip to Costa Rica, led by a quartet of professors, and two other post-Commencement trips are planned for this year. Both will take students to the United Kingdom.
“We will be looking at both cultural sites and business opportunities ranging from tourism to trade and tariffs,” said business professor Tom Prince of a one-week trip to Scotland. “We still have some spaces available, as we get special discounts for up to 24, so it’s a great time to travel and see Scotland.”
The group will visit Glasgow and Edinburgh and their various main attractions, as well as St. Andrews, the Highlands, Loch Lomond and Loch Ness. Students can get information from Prince or psychology professor Joan Wertz at this site. The group will depart from Chicago May 22 and return May 29.
Well-traveled biology professor James Godde will lead the other trip, which will be a walking tour across the south of England that will be reminiscent of a pilgrimage from The Canterbury Tales. The group, which is at capacity at 13 students, will be in England from May 19 through June 2.
Looking back at Costa Rica
Current psychology professor Ryan Colclasure and his former department colleague, Sydney Greenwalt, led last May’s trip to Central America, along with neuroscience professor Janet Ugolino and retired biology professor Ken Cramer, whose fluency in Spanish came in handy throughout the time abroad. Cultural awareness and ecology – learning about the flora and fauna – were the main areas of focus.
“I thoroughly enjoyed the red-eyed tree frog night walk and being exposed to the diverse ecosystems throughout the country,” said Carina Engst ’26 of Bloomington, Illinois. “It was an incredibly educational experience to be exposed to a variety of cultures and to visually experience a wide range of animal species.”
Engst, who’s now serving as president of Scots Student Senate, also had extra time to pick the brain of outgoing president Luis Castillo, a 2024 graduate.
“There we were in the tropical paradise of a pineapple plantation, and Carina and Luis were talking about passing the torch in student government,” said Colclasure.
Early on, the students were in a “very remote” spot that wasn’t necessarily giving off a “tropical paradise” vibe.
“The place we stayed for the first two days could only be accessed by a half-hour boat ride,” said Colclasure. “It was very remote. We stayed in bungalows, and we were the only people there.”
Some of the students weren’t quite sure what to make of their new surroundings, but “by Day 4 or 5, they had an epiphany,” said Colclasure. “They started to realize what they were experiencing. … It was a really fantastic mix of being away from civilization, but also being steeped in the culture of the country.”
That’s all part of the transformative power of travel, said Colclasure.
“The best way to learn about yourself is to put yourself into a completely different environment,” he said. “It can be very transformative, as you discard preconceived notions about a culture and about your limitations.”
“I believe traveling abroad is incredibly important because it broadens your perspective and helps you appreciate a variety of cultures,” said Engst. “My biggest takeaway from traveling to Costa Rica was how much I learned about the local culture, especially through food.”
Colclasure said the group experienced zip-lining and kayaking, as well as plenty of wildlife, including nesting turtles and waking up to the cries of howler monkeys. One of the professor’s favorite moments was running to the base of the Arenal Volcano with one of the students on the trip, Talon Hunter ’27 of Avon, Illinois.
“The Costa Rica trip was the trip of a lifetime,” said Anna Caster ’25 of Greenfield, Indiana. “In Guanacaste, our whole group went zip-lining in a thunderstorm. It was so much fun, and the views were absolutely gorgeous. We also hiked to see Catarata Rio Celeste, a beautiful waterfall with the bluest water you’ve ever seen.”
“We also spent some time in Nicoya, which is a Blue Zone area,” said Colclasure. The region has the world’s lowest rate of middle-age mortality, due in part to the high rate of calcium in its water supply.
Colclasure also reported that Costa Rica relies on “something like 97% on renewable resources,” due, in part, to the benefits of volcanism – also known as geothermal energy – which helps power their electric plants. “They’re kind of the poster child for doing energy right, and that was a takeaway for many of the students.”
“My biggest takeaway from the trip was to get out of your comfort zone,” said Caster. “It can be so hard to get out and try new things, but the amazing experiences and learning opportunities are so worth it. I did my best to speak in Spanish for much of the trip to fully immerse into the Costa Rican culture. At times, I struggled to communicate with others, but through the process of stepping out of my comfort zone and continuing to speak the language, I learned so much about the people, environment and traditions of Costa Rica.”
What’s in store for 2026?
Monmouth also offers what it calls “J term” or “January term” trips, which are opportunities to travel abroad with faculty during Christmas break.
Godde will lead the next one of those next January, taking students to Machu Picchu in Peru. Unlike his England trip, there are still openings for students to participate. A May trip for 2026 is also in the planning stage, as Colclasure will be leading a group to Europe to learn more about the Holocaust. The college last sponsored a trip to those sites in 2017.
***Courtesy of Barry McNamara, Monmouth College***
