Archie Williams art teacher Nikki Mortham has set up a new adventure for 2024, preparing to take 10-20 students on a 10-day educational tour of Europe.
Titled “Northern Lights of Northwestern Europe” students will depart from San Francisco International Airport April 4 and arrive in Berlin, Germany April 5.
They will explore the cities of Berlin, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Bremen, and Amsterdam via foot, bus, and bike, visiting important sites such as the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag, the Copenhagen Canal, and the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin. Students will explore an artistic viewpoint of many world-renowned locations.
One chaperone will join the trip for every six students, so Mortham expects the tour to be similar to the one she took with Redwood High School students in 2017, with two or three chaperones for 10-20 students.
In 2017, Mortham ventured to Ecuador with a group of Redwood students. On the service-based trip, the group worked with local students and residents to reforest local greenery. Mortham took pride in how her students formed meaningful connections with locals and gained a better understanding of the world during the trip.
“I think the first and most important thing we get from traveling is [how] to better understand people…, how to understand culture, [and] how does that culture influence them?” Mortham said. “How it influences [the students’] motives, their art, their food, their experience, all of it.”
Although this tour is led by art teachers and will have artistic activities, the trip is open to anyone who would like to see the world and broaden their horizons. With an initial payment of $5,434, due Dec. 1, which covers all travel, housing, food, and healthcare expenses, students will learn about independence, new cultures, and relationship-building, and they will gain confidence in traveling. Students unable to meet the initial payment can also register by Oct. 1 and get $100 off or commit to a $903 monthly payment (Oct.-April).
“I’m excited to travel with my friends and see new places, because there’s lots of beautiful scenery and art where we’re going,” said Archie Williams senior Ella Swain.
For students considering the trip, there was an informational meeting at Archie Williams High School in room 503 at lunch Tuesday, Sept. 26.
