Registration for  new 2025 summer trips have begun; RBHS teachers Ben Schirmer and Megan Klukowski will lead the trips to Eastern Europe and South Africa, organized by the non-CPS affiliated Education First (EF) company. The trips are scheduled to occur over the duration of 9-11 days, and the dates will be confirmed when 2025 bookings become available. 

The EF company is “an international education company that specializes in language training, educational travel, academic degree programs, and cultural exchange.” This means that any student in the world can join the trip if they desire, and is not limited to only CPS students. Schirmer and Klukowski have been working together exclusively to plan the trips by scheduling meetings, inviting students at RBHS to join, putting up posters in the school hallways and discussing ideas for fundraising purposes. Klukowski said she and Shirmer have worked really well together as teachers and decided to collaborate on the planning process for the trips. 

“We have some ideas about how to raise funds that really complement each other,” Klukowski said. “Additionally, we like to build relationships with our students and we [try] to focus on that. He builds strong relationships with students, and I do the same, so it’s a way for us to give more access to everybody, and to [encourage] students to travel more.” 

The Eastern Europe trip is a total of nine days around three different countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia. Sightseeing includes walking along the ancient city walls alongside the Mediterranean sea and the viewing of Dubrovnik in a cable car ride. Then, a visit to the mosque from the Ottoman Empire and the Palace of Diocletian, followed by the natural waterfalls of Plitvice National Park and the exploration of the Postojna cave system. Finally, a hike through the Slovenian countryside with a visit to Lake Bled and the castle.

The South Africa trip is a total of eleven days, and it starts in Johannesburg. The trip includes visiting Soweto and the Regina Mundi and exploring the home of Winnie Mandela, Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu, while simultaneously learning the history of South Africa at the Apartheid Museum and The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage site. In addition, the trip includes an endeavor to see many wild animals at the Kruger National Park, and a stop at Long Tom Mistry Mountain for a toboggan ride, along with an elevator down to visit the Gaskop Gorge. There will also be a flight to Cape Town, where students will experience the summit of Table mountain and go on a tour around the suburban area, with a final visit to Nelson Mandela’s prison cell.

Both teachers have past experience taking students abroad on trips. Klukowski led a group to New Zealand while working for another district and recently took another group through EF to Greece this past summer. Even though she has taken many students to a wide range of places in the world, Klukowski said she chose to lead the South Africa trip in 2025 in order to visit a new  continent.

“A lot of times, [we] kind of gravitate towards Europe [for travel],” Klukowski said. “I think it’s because [Europe is] a little more familiar to us. So going to Asia, Africa, Central America and South America is a little farther from [the student’s] comfort zone. My goal is to try to create a program where we reach all continents so that kids can see the whole world.”

Many students going on these trips do not have much experience going abroad, and for some, it is a completely new experience. Senior Dylan Rothwell said he has not traveled abroad before, but believes the trip will be a great learning experience.

“I’ve always wanted to travel abroad ever since I was little,” Rothwell said. “The chance to travel abroad can be a rare opportunity [and] getting to go in a group will likely be more fun and less of a potentially isolating experience. If you’re going to be a clueless tourist, at least be a clueless tourist in a group.” 

For similar reasons, senior Ava Canlas went on her first EF trip abroad to Iceland this past summer. She said going on her first trip abroad was frightening at first, but ended up being a great experience.

“It was my first big trip traveling without my parents or any family at all,” Canlas said. It was scary at first, traveling over 3,000 miles away with a group of students and teachers, but I am really thankful that I got to have that experience. The trip had a big impact on me in so many ways. Traveling to Iceland showed me how important it is to learn and experience other cultures.” 

Besides the learning experience, the trip has many other benefits, one of which includes getting credit for schoolwork. Even though EF is not affiliated with CPS, it provides students with the opportunity to “[develop] a question to investigate on tour, then create a post-tour project” for 0.5 elective credit with the credit free of charge. To find more information regarding the trips, QR codes can be scanned from the posters around RBHS or directly through the two chaperoning teachers. 

“Travel changes you, travel grows you,” Klukowski said. “As humans in our little bubbles, we have a propensity to think that [Columbia] is the center of our universe, but getting out makes [us] recognize that [we] are just this tiny piece of our universe.” 

Will you be registering for the 2025 Eastern Europe or South Africa trip? Let us know in the comments below.