NEWSLETTER

Jordan Terry

St. George, Utah

Biology

Leadership

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Cultural Immersion Trip to Denver, Colorado

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            My project was to fully plan, organize, and lead a cultural immersion trip to Denver, Colorado. During the planning process, I sought for the travel group to see as much of what Denver had to offer as possible. One way I sought to do this was to use local newspapers to find restaurants popular among locals. I also planned the activities and meals for each day near each other so that we could walk between locations to see more of the city. As part of the planning process, I organized and wrote daily itineraries to help the whole group know what we’d be doing each day. In addition to these planning steps, I also arranged for both transportation and accommodations for the duration of the trip.

            We chose Denver as our destination as a group for several reasons. A major advantage was it’s the closest major city none of the group had visited before. Also, Denver has many exciting attractions and locations that help shape a unique culture and experience from many other cities. Although I planned some activities that are common for many tourists, I also tried to give us as many opportunities as possible to sample the culture of Denver. We also attended a few locations that gave us a chance to learn and enjoy a cultural location. These locations included the Denver Botanic Gardens, Denver Museum of Art, and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

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            The inspiration for my project came primarily from the process of finding an EDGE project that would work. With previous projects falling through, I felt a growing desire to have complete control over my project. My wife and I greatly enjoy traveling and try to as often as possible. Our travel group had discussed the option of going on a trip together, and when I found myself in need of a project again, I quickly thought of making the trip a leadership experience. As I thought more about the trip being my EDGE project, the more I enjoyed the idea of carefully planning a trip and learning something from the experience.

            As previously mentioned, I had other projects fall through prior to the successful selection of my EDGE project. This became a major challenge for me as I tried to complete a project. It was difficult to continue finding new, viable projects, especially since I began work on projects in three different EDGE categories. Being in different categories required emailing different people and completing different requirements and proposals. It was also difficult to keep a desire to work on finding and completing a project when I ran into so many difficulties in even finding a project to begin with.

            Aside from the difficulties of finding a project to complete, I did have other difficulties in the project itself. Coordinating the schedules of several people during the summer when people are going on other trips and working was a challenge. Because we went on the trip shortly after the end of the spring semester, much of the planning required had to be done during the busy period leading up to finals for the semester. Although these challenges were something I had to overcome, I’m very grateful difficulties with the project were less challenging to solve than those involved with previous projects.

            I hope my project benefitted the others on the trip in several ways. First, I hope that going on a trip helped everyone on the trip to relax and recharge after what was a challenging semester for most of us due to both medical and financial concerns. This was one of the largest benefits I hoped everyone else on the trip would receive due to me taking care of all planning for the trip. Second, I hope the group gained an appreciation for the culture of a city they’ve never had a chance to visit. Third, I hope they were able to make memories that they’ll cherish and be grateful for as they move beyond college and look back on their university education. I know that these benefits are definitely the benefits I feel I received from the trip and hope the others that went with me received the same.

            As stated, I feel that the benefits those on the trip received are the benefits I feel I received. In addition to these, I feel that I also gained a valuable leadership experience in the process of carefully planning and organizing the trip. Another benefit I feel I received is knowing that I was able to plan a trip that everyone enjoyed and benefitted from. That is an important aspect of satisfaction that is important to me. Finally, one of the greatest benefit is knowing I’ve completed my EDGE project and successfully concluded the EDGE program that I began three years ago. Knowing I’ve accomplished what I set out to do and something the university desired of its students is something that makes me feel happy about my university experience.

            I’m grateful my project was the ultimate success it was. Although it wasn’t what I had initially pictured, my project was something I gained valuable lessons and experiences from that I hope will help elevate me in my future endeavors.