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Posts tagged as “travel”

(Archive February 2018) Study Abroad and Travel for Students at MWCC

By editorialteam on February 4, 2025

By Rachel Aster | Observer Contributor

Dean Laurie Occhipinti
Photo by Thomas Hill Jr.

Mount Wachusett Community College has a surprising amount of travel options for the adventurous students who attend. Two of the biggest options our school offers are the Study Abroad program and the Service Travel program. The Study Abroad program is a 3-week to a full semester program, while the Service Travel is one week in May after classes end for the year. 

Dr. Laurie Occhipinti, the Dean of Liberal Arts, Humanities and Communications, is the contact person for the Study Abroad program. Occhipinti said, “MWCC currently has (and has had) a study abroad program that works through partner universities. This is available now for our students.” This is a shared partner program involving other colleges which allows students the opportunity to visit one of 40-60 different countries while earning credits. Occhipinti said, “Study abroad does cost extra for students, but financial aid can be applied to study abroad (this always depends on an individual’s situation with aid). Information is available in my office (the Division for liberal Arts, Education, Humanities, and Communications).“ read more

(Archive December 2017) MWCC Student Visits Island in Portugal

By editorialteam on January 28, 2025

By Cassie Roy | Observer Contributor

Nicole Chavez visits Portugal
Image courtesy of Nicole Chavez

Azores, Portugal is a beautiful island filled with massive hydrangeas and friendly stray cats. This is where Nicole Chaves, a student at Mount Wachusett Community College, visited to see family for ten days over the summer. This is her second year attending the Mount and she is currently majoring in Liberal Arts and Sciences.

The trip was Chaves’s high school graduation present from her family. It was the first time she went out of the country to see where her father grew up and visit her cousins, distant cousins, an aunt, and her father’s childhood friends. She travelled there with her mother, father, and older sister Danielle.  read more

(Archive December 2017) Student Discovers the Joy of Travel

By editorialteam on January 28, 2025

By Rachel Aster | Observer Contributor

Aster going on a snorkeling adventure.

Travel is often seen as something that only the rich do while on vacation, staying in 5-star hotels on resorts. I had the same opinion of travel coming from a lower middle-class family and having our yearly vacation be a two-hour drive to the Lakes Region in NH. 

Skateboarding down the road.

It wasn’t until I became an adult that I realized the world was my oyster and world travel is something that does not have to cost a fortune. Since coming to this realization, travel has been my outlet from stress, depression and has helped me dramatically with anxiety. read more

(Archive October 2017) What Travelling has Taught Me

By editorialteam on January 9, 2025

By Iheb Klai | Observer Contributor

Travelling, anywhere by any means, can be an incredibly rewarding experience.
Photo by Tauseef Ali Khan https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Travelling_is_life~.jpg

I have been travelling the last two years around 8 countries from different continents. Whether by train, car or airplane, travel is always a pleasurable experience that makes me gain more benefits than any other thing. That is why I personally encourage students to take such decisions and gain life-long benefits.

My last trip was for almost two months during this past summer vacation. I went to Greece for a volunteering internship and a discovering mission at the same time. Mainly, it was the best experience I have ever had all my life. Every time I travel I feel new personality inside me, more mature, more confident, and just starting to learn my fourth language. read more

(Archive December 2016) Just Go, According to Heather Conn

By editorialteam on September 4, 2024

By Kelly Cacciolfi | Observer Contributor

“Just go and go with someone” is what Heather Conn, current Assistant Professor of Biology and Department Chair, Natural Sciences, gives for advice about travel. Conn shared what she has learned through her journeys from a young age.

It all started with a trip with her family to Disney in Williamsburg where Conn said, “that’s when I became obsessed with maps and I am very good at reading them.” When Conn was in 5th or 6th grade, her father (Steve) won a trip to Mexico through his work. He then decided to rent a car for their excursions. read more

Martha Morris

By editorialteam on March 22, 2024

History Professor and World Traveler

By Amal Elkhoury | Observer Contributor

Martha Morris, an adjunct history professor at Mount Wachusett Community College and Berkshire Community College, is currently teaching three history courses across both institutions. She holds a bachelor’s degree in History with a minor in Geography from the University of Washington and earned an MSc and an MPhil in Economic History from the London School of Economics (LSE). “LSE was my first choice for graduate school because I wanted to focus on the British industrial revolution and the earlier period of import substitution,” said Morris. read more

What Can We Gain from Traveling?

By editorialteam on April 6, 2022

Student and Staff Share Traveling Experiences and the Importance of Travel in College

By Maddie Willigar | Assistant Editor

With the end of the pandemic in sight and many individuals looking for travel opportunities as countries open their borders, Science Professor Heather Conn, and former MWCC student Chyrone Ragland, share their experiences with traveling and why they believe it is important for schools to have more travel opportunities.

            Between his time in the military and his job afterward as a Military Outreach Coordinator, Ragland traveled to over 25 locations, including Dubai, Afghanistan, Germany, and Poland. Out of all of these locations, Ragland said Dubai is one of his favorite places he has traveled to. Between the leaf-shaped Palm Islands and the “remarkable” architecture, he also explained it was the most beautiful. read more

(Archive October 2019) Where Education Meets Vacation

By editorialteam on October 16, 2019

Study abroad program offers educational experiences

By Rachel Williams | Observer Contributor

The new study abroad program gives students the opportunity to go on life changing adventures at an affordable cost.

Tracy Betts Sarefield, Study Abroad Staff Assistant, explained that the new program is incorporating abroad learning into average classes. Sarefield explained that if faculty members would like to take a trip abroad with their class they can.

For example, arts teachers could incorporate a trip to Italy inside their semester’s curriculum with their students to study the arts for a week in a new environment with different types of art. read more

(Archive October 2019) Destination: Iceland

By editorialteam on October 6, 2019

By Maya Douglas | Observer Contributor

The Cultural Engagement and International Service Club is all about promoting positive diversity and learning within the community. Their mission is to foster global awareness, understanding, and appreciation within the MWCC community. Their next upcoming event is a service trip to Iceland.

In May 2020, Student Life and the Brewer Center for Civic Learning and Community Engagement will host this service project along with True Nature Education, a nonprofit organization which carries a holistic approach to the idea of learning in a culturally diverse environment. This weeklong trip will be filled with activities such as hiking the local terrain, visiting volcanic lava fields and hot springs, going on a whale watch, and more. There will also be time to try regional foods as well as local shopping. read more

(Archive November 2016) Living Out a Dream

By editorialteam on November 8, 2016

Local Man tours with Pop Artist

By Tyler Morgan | Observer Contributor

Traveling across the United States on tour with a popular musician is something not many people can say they have done. The rock star lifestyle is not fit for many, especially with what goes on from day to day while traveling from state to state.

Imagine not being able to take a shower for over a month while being stuck on a luxury tour bus traveling around the U.S having the time of one’s life? For Travis Collier, 21 a graduate of North Middlesex High School in Townsend, the time spent touring was well spent. read more