The French Quarter, Cajun and Creole Culture

Students learn through travel on SLCC’s first domestic study trip

Students from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds participated in Salt Lake Community College’s first interdisciplinary credit-bearing domestic study trip last summer, titled “A Taste of Louisiana.”

“Historically, study abroad has been a program of privilege,” says Lucy Smith, SLCC’s Engaged Learning director. “As an alternative to studying abroad, domestic study trips require less time and funds but can be equally as educative.” Most of the students who participated in the New Orleans trip received scholarships through funding that supports high-impact learning practices.

As an alternative to studying abroad, domestic study trips require less time and funds but can be equally as educative.

At the heart of these travel experiences is the opportunity for experiential learning. This allows students to explore cultures, life experiences and worldviews different from their own. Students applied their experiences to the framework of their respective fields.

“As a future animator, it’s my job to study and value cultures in order to represent them as best as I can,” says Brisa Aguirre Jurado, who is studying animation at SLCC. She enjoys learning about cultures and how they are represented in media.

A few stops on the trip’s itinerary included the New Orleans French Quarter, cemeteries, the National World War II Museum, swamps, the Tabasco factory, a botanical garden and bird sanctuary, and a historic village.