Study-in-America rocks and rolls

 By Quin Palmer qmp2@txstate.edu

SAN MARCOS, Texas –The Texas State Study-in-America program announced that the 2018 trip will be visiting six parks in three states, including the Grand Canyon.

Nicole Hengst, the program assistant for Study-in-America, announced on Thursday that the program will be visiting six new parks this year. The Office of Distance and Extended Learning set up this program in 2016 to allow students an alternative to studying abroad. The trip will last for 14 days, and students will be given the opportunity to earn six credit hours while working at the parks.

The parks being visited this year are Caprock Canyons State Park and Trailway in Texas,

The Grand Canyon South Rim in Arizona, Zion National Park in Utah, Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado, Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in Colorado and finally Palo Duro Canyon State Park in Texas.

Study-in-America is a way for students to get themselves out there, earn a chance to get published and get more experience using multiple platforms to tell a story. The faculty members encourage students to take advantage of this opportunity to the fullest.

“Professionally I hope that the content pieces that they create can help them land internships,can help them land jobs and really fill out their portfolio,” said Hengst. “I was very impressed with the work that students did last year.”

Last year the program cost $750 per class, but the trip can be covered by financial aid. The trip is open for anyone with full major status to apply, but the interview process will narrow the number of students down to a small group. The group will be slightly larger than last year’s, which consisted of three faculty members and nine students.

The interview process is conducted to make sure that students have the appropriate attitude for going on the trip.

“This trip differs from typical study abroad programs because we are camping more than half the time for this class,” said Hengst. “It’s a work-shared trip, which means we’re going to share everybody putting up camp, picking up camp and also share cooking duties for part of that as well.”

This year Study-in-America plans a bigger trip than previous years, going farther with more students. The program will attempt to continue providing an engaging learning opportunity for mass communication students.