Many students have heard of Moravian’s ELEVATE program, an undergrad student experience, but many do not know about the travel component that is included in the program. All students are eligible for a free international trip ranging from seven to ten days. 

The experience is available to all students who started as a freshman after the fall of 2021. Transfer students become eligible after they have completed one academic year – or two semesters, in total – at Moravian. Currently, transfer students cannot travel until 2023. 

The Global Greyhound Travel experience not only offers students the option of a free seven- to ten-day trip but also offers travel vouchers for students interested in a longer travel experience. There are trips that occur during the May term that are two or three weeks long. Because these trips are more expensive than shorter trips, students are given a $2,500 voucher and must pay for the remaining cost themselves. 

Many of the longer travel experiences are credit-bearing, with most offering a ½ unit credit and some offering 1 unit. These experiences have a class associated with traveling. Typically, a class that offers a ½ unit would meet for half a semester and a class that offers 1 unit would meet for the entire semester. Students that wish to receive the credit associated with the class must pay the fee to take that class. 

Students do not need to know the language of the country they are traveling to. Many of the countries that Moravian students travel to have English as their second language, and if that is not the case, a translator will be able to assist those on the trip. 

“Each trip is led by Moravian staff and faculty, and there are a minimum of eight students on every trip,” said Program Coordinator Bryn Wiragh ‘20. “If [fewer] than eight students sign up for a trip, that trip will not occur.”

For those nervous to travel internationally, Wiragh encourages them to remember they “will be with the Moravian community and have that support system. There are two trip leaders and other students that you will be with.” 

And for those worried about fitting traveling abroad into their time at Moravian, “We try to fit trips in during a break, so they don’t have to take time away from classes or programs,” Wiragh said. 

For students with disabilities, “We do our best to accommodate, we can’t control everything but we can work with accessibility to see the options available,” said Wiragh. 

Students that are interested in traveling should remember that they need a passport to travel. It takes eight to twelve weeks for a passport to process, so it is best for students to get their passport by October of the year they plan to travel.

If you are interested in traveling somewhere that is not available through ELEVATE, you can fill out this form and petition to get that destination added to the list of possibilities. If students have any questions or want to learn more, they can email [email protected].