Every year, a small number of Piedmont College’s professors and students take a trip to select locations worldwide. However, due to the rise of COVID-19 cases and concerns and the risks of international travel, they are canceled again for the 2020-21 school year.

“As of right now, Summer Travel Study is canceled for the time being, and there won’t be a decision until December or January,” said Melissa Tingle, Assistant Professor of Mass Communications and Instructional Designer of Academic Technology at Piedmont College.

Summer Study Travel gives students the opportunity to discover other parts of the world, while experiencing a different culture. 

“If we stay on the same trajectory as we are right now, there will be no summer travel study,” Tingle said. “As a teacher, I don’t want to take students abroad to have them catch [COVID-19] and bring it back here.”

COVID-19 has changed the world completely, with the result of adjusting to new living conditions. But during these challenging times, Piedmont College is continuing to try and bring back the sightseeing experience for their students.

“There have been talks about having a domestic-oriented Summer Travel Study, where we travel to places we are allowed to be in the United States, but the important stuff hasn’t been dealt with yet,” Tingle said. 

Traveling is an enriching and often cross-curricular experience, and Piedmont College wants to give that opportunity to their students in the safest way possible; however, there are no definitive answers to Piedmont’s Summer Study Travel plans at the time.