On May 8, 2024, Megan Cummings, a senior at Concordia University Chicago, entered the airport without her family. She walked through security, eager to board a plane that would change not just her trajectory of education but possibly her life.
Cummings stepped out of the airport after hours of travel and connecting flights and touched down in Palermo, Sicily, Italy. She and a group of CUC students would spend the next ten days traveling the island of Sicily in the cities of Palmero, Ragusa, Taormina, and Sircusa, offering tours around historical sites, food, churches, and cities on the island.
Cummings traveled out of the country for the first time in her life, attending this trip designed by staff to explore Sicily through CUExplores offered to students, family, and friends of CUC.
“It looked intriguing, and I wanted to study abroad, but I was too nervous about going away for a whole semester, so I thought this would be a good alternative because I took Professor Sorenson’s class,” Cummings said. “But I think it was a very well-thought-out trip, and I would go again.”
The class, Mediterranean Cultures, is a theology eight-week course taught by Professor Robert Sorenson during the summer semester. This theology class was centered around the trip and is possible to replace one of the theology classes needed to graduate.
Before COVID, the CUExplore program provided students with studying abroad through a short program to countries for cultural, worldly, and religious purposes. Through the university’s vice president Jamie Kowalczyk, Sorenson, and tour guides from Italabs, students were able to experience the culture of Sicily, inviting all relations to Concordia.
“There’s actually a lot of students that I met while on the trip and got closer with, and we also got to meet some new people and peers around my age that are either a part of the Graduate Studies program or like an online program,” Cummings said. “So it was cool to meet some people. Also, I talked to a lot of the faculty and staff that were on the trip now as well, just because I see them around campus.”
One such connection includes Natalie Castellanos, a student from Florida State University who attended the trip.
“My grandmother, who was, I believe, a master’s student there. She is the one who introduced me to the idea of going on the trip,” Castellanos said. “She got an email about it and immediately thought of me since we love to travel, we love history, all those kinds of things together.”
“We saw the Valley of Temples, which was always stuff you see like that on the cover of a history book or in it,” Cummings said. “I never really understood or comprehended, like, the actual size comparison to what it is until I was up close and able to see what it was like and how those people at that time lived, and that was really awesome.”
The Valley of Temples, a landmark in Agrigento, a fully preserved ancient temple on the Island of Sicily. This landmark demonstrates the historical significance of Greek influence in the region of Sicily, which was integrated with many religions like Greek and Catholicism.
“Norman church, which was one of the first couple places that we went to, had this incredible gilded multi-gemstone ceiling with different icons,” Castellanos said. “That was something that was so, so poignant to me, being able to see some of the religious aspect of it was something that I appreciate. Looking at these temples, the churches or even the coastline amazed me.”
Abby Porter, a senior at CUC, followed this up with her experiences.
“I’ve never studied abroad, and I never left the country, so I had no idea what it was going to be like or what it was going to look like,” Porter said. “But, I feel like it really did blow out the water for a lot of the different aspects we had, especially Ragusa like we were the only ones like in that hotel room, and so it was kind of nice to not have To. It was kind of like our own private location.
Attendees will be provided with a trip to Greece, where they will explore both Religious and historic sites of the Country and its many islands. Reverend Dr. Patrick Bayens, Concordia University Chicago Professor of New Testament, will be directing a trip to Athens, Corinth, Mykonos, Santorini, and other parts of Greece, including a short cruise around some islands.
The trip is priced at $4769, and it includes amenities and flights. The final payment is due Jan. 15.
“Don’t be afraid to step outside your comfort zone and travel because although it’s expensive, it’s worth it,” Cummings said. “Because of the amount of people you meet and things that you get to experience and see that you have never been able to experience before.”
