Students from many countries travelled around the United States
Over spring break, a group of students and faculty mentors took part in Destination USA, a trip hosted by the Learning in the World (LITW) program. Participants had the opportunity to explore and learn about various parts of the U.S., ranging from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C.
Stephanie Cormier, Student Program Coordinator, explained how Destination USA has evolved significantly over the years, shifting from a loosely organized student-only trip to a structured program with faculty oversight.
“It was actually just students that used to go on this. It was organized by the former International Student Coordinator for a long, long time, and they used to just send the Kemper scholars on their merry way. It was like, ‘Here’s the time the shuttle will pick you up, here’s your flight, here’s where you’re staying, good luck, and we’ll see you at the end of break.’ In 2015, I think the Academy [thought], ‘Why are these students going on a school-sponsored trip without an adult?’ I was asked to go to see if we could structure it into something that was a little bit more productive,” said Cormier.
A key aspect of the trip was sharing and reflecting on the students’ cultural backgrounds. For example, students were assigned to search for authentic restaurants from their home countries. Ibuki Hada ’25 explained how this experience gave insights on American culture from an international perspective.
“It was not only about learning America’s culture but also about sharing the cultures we grew up in. We had assignments where we had to share our culture,” said Hada. “For example, we had to find an authentic restaurant from our home country. I needed to find a Japanese restaurant, so I looked in Japantown in San Francisco. I called six places, but none of them had Japanese staff. It was surprising how a place called Japantown didn’t truly represent Japanese culture. This made me think about how America is called a melting pot, but that doesn’t mean each culture is truly represented. Sometimes, they are misrepresented. That was a notable experience from this trip.”
Narek Hambardzumyan ’26 appreciated how the various destinations covered by the trip offered him exposure to multiple facets of American culture. Shouting out the chaperones for their leadership, he also explained how the experiences in each city left a lasting impact on him.
“It exceeded my expectations of what I was hoping for. It was really great. If I could do it again, I would. It’s like I could stay longer [if] we do the trip [and] go to a bunch of different cities for two more weeks or something. I would definitely do it. It was really fun…I can point out the chaperones, Ms. Cormier and Ms. [Laura] Dzubay, [Teaching Fellow in English]. They were really great as well. They were perfect leaders for this trip,” said Hambardzumyan.
On the other hand, some students felt dissatisfied with the difficulties the trip had put them through. Wambui Nyiha ’25 expressed disappointment about the accommodations and the constant physical strain throughout the journey. She shared how the group stayed in hostels, living in shared rooms with other traveling groups.
“The hostels we were staying in, you [had] to share them with other people…It’s like a dorm but [with a lot of] people, and those were not very good quality…Often we would be walking a lot from nine in the morning to eight p.m. We’d be walking everywhere and especially in cities that aren’t really walking [accessible]…The point was [that] there was not enough food throughout the day. We didn’t get enough snacks. We’d find ourselves having one sandwich at eleven a.m., and then not eating dinner until seven p.m,” said Nyiha.
Nyiha elaborated on how students were often exhausted by the end of each day. She suggested that increasing the budget of future trips would help the faculty leaders support the individual needs of each student.
“In terms of the budget, getting us food probably would have been better…A big thing was [that] we were so exhausted. There was no time to rest. You were always on your feet. You were always walking. Not really enough food, water is on you, but it was just really tiring. By the end of it a lot of us felt like we were even more tired by the end of spring break than when we left school after finals week… Just prepare yourself for walking and for not eating, but you’ll have fun. It’ll be a good experience overall,” said Nyiha.
