By Molly Burke / Jambar Contributor
Fluorescent blues and oranges color the illustration of shells, a sea turtle, a shovel and a research station logo on Ravyin Gorrell’s left calf.
The illustration is a tattoo capturing the senior anthropology major’s favorite memories from a class trip to the Bahamas in 2022.
“It opened my eyes to different foods and ways of life and culture and architecture and how much history there is in the world,” Gorrell said.
The study abroad opportunity was one of many faculty-led trips offered to Youngstown State University students.
Multiple departments offer classes that end the semester with a chance to travel to another country for around two weeks — over winter or spring breaks or the beginning of summer.
Matt O’Manksy, an associate professor in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, takes anthropology students to the Bahamas each December to complete archeological digs on San Salvador Island. This year, the trip costs students less than $800.
“We’re digging those sites of the Lucayan Indians,” O’Manksy said. “There’s a research station. There’s an old U.S. naval base, and so we have somewhere to stay.”
Gorrell is planning for a third trip to the Bahamas this December. She said studying abroad is an essential step in advancing career preparations.
“I feel like you don’t really get the sense of what the job is going to be unless you’re out doing it, and a lot of the majors we have here deal with international issues. I can’t dig in the ocean in Ohio,” Gorrell said. “Being able to have hands-on learning and it be out of the country was incredible.”
O’Manksy also takes students to Belize and Guatemala every other spring to learn about Mayan culture and history. Previously a business major, senior Colton Diaz was inspired to become an anthropology major after taking the trip.
“I just fell in love with the entire field of that one trip alone,” Diaz said. “The one [site] we went to in Guatemala is called Tikal, and it’s actually a national park. So, we go to stay at the park and see that, which was very cool, especially as someone who’s never left Ohio before.”
The Communication Department has also offered faculty-led trips to the United Kingdom, France and Greece. The department is teaming up with the political science program for a second trip to Ghana in May.
Communication professor Jeff Tyus is teaching the communication section of the course. He said students will see a variety of cultural and political sites, costing between $3,000 and $3,500 per student.
“We’ll go to Cape Coast because it’s where a lot of the slave castles are … The National Forest is over in the Cape Coast, which is also on the Atlantic Ocean as well,” Tyus said. “This is an educational trip, but we are also big on having fun when we’re there as well.”
Cryshanna Jackson Leftwich, a professor in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, is teaching the political science section of the course. She said studying abroad helps students expand their worldviews.
“It’s just something you can’t replicate. You can’t do it on a map. It opens your eyes to things you’ve never thought of. It takes away some fear of traveling,” Jackson Leftwich said. “It’s really important that we encourage people to get out there and see different parts of the world.”
Some trips are restricted to students in a major, but others are open to anyone with permission from a course instructor. O’Manksy said regardless of where students go, the faculty-led trips make studying abroad accessible and easy.
“A lot of our students who have not traveled are a little intimidated by going off for a semester or a year or have family obligations, work, whatever,” O’Manksy said. “These are shorter trips, so you can fit into the schedule usually, and it’s safer. You’re with faculty who have done these things, who know the areas.”
Several other faculty-led study abroad courses will be held in spring. Students interested in registering can talk to their advisers.
