Gannon T.R.A.V.E.L. trips are underway, so we wanted to bring back one of our favorite features all about the T.R.A.V.E.L. program. You can follow the trips on Facebook at facebook.com/GannonTRAVEL. Trips are currently in Italy, Ireland, Israel, France, Spain, Australia, and England!

If you’re anything like me, you fantasize about packing up your belongings and traveling to a faraway place almost daily. Well, why not make that dream a reality?

Gannon’s T.R.A.V.E.L. program (Transforming Residents Abroad via Engaged Learning), has countless opportunities for students wishing explore the world. Here are 8 facts you may not know about the T.R.A.V.E.L.  program:

2014-2015 Ireland Trip Group

1. The T.R.A.V.E.L. program is really about living in a group setting and working together. Students are working with each other and faculty members for the majority of the academic year. Once they travel abroad, the students live co-habituate in a foreign country and learn together.

2. The program is open to all upperclassmen (sophomores, juniors and seniors) and all majors.

3. There are a few requirements a student must meet before they are accepted into the program.

“Students must have a 2.0 or above cumulative grade point average, and they must also agree to a discipline audit,” according to Becky Perry, T.R.A.V.E.L. program coordinator. “Students need to be willing to participate in weekly/bi-weekly trip group meetings, fundraising and a presentation upon returning form their trip.”

4. In the past, the T.R.A.V.E.L. program has sent students to Scotland, France and Spain.

5. More than 10 trips are planned for 2015-16.

Destinations include England, France, Spain, Germany, Ireland, Australia, Iceland, Japan, Belize, Italy, Greece, Sweden and Norway.

Students learning to “mind the gap” on the London Tube.

6. Trips are affordable.

A 10-12 day trip runs between $2,500 and $3,000. Additionally, scholarships and fundraising are available to offset the cost.

7. Traveling abroad isn’t just about living it up in a foreign country for a few weeks.

It’s really about learning and understanding the world in which we live. “All students that have the capacity to travel abroad should do so because learning abroad experiences are critical to developing a global worldview, which is informed by a personal understanding and acquaintance with other people, places and cultures,” Perry said.

8. Becoming part of a global community and making new friends is what makes the study abroad experience so worthwhile.

“During the summer of 2013, I was sharing a meal with a local family in Madaba, Jordan, when the family invited my colleagues and I to their daughter’s wedding,” Perry said. “The family barely knew us, but they opened their home and their hearts. I never cease to be amazed by the hospitality I have experienced abroad, a hospitality I hope every Gannon student gets to experience as well.”

Visiting the Old City in Jerusalem.

If you’re interested in the T.R.A.V.E.L. program, you can learn more on EngageU.