Montana State University ecology professor Brian Smithers took 15 students on a trip to Kenya, the first faculty-led study abroad trip for the university since the pandemic's start.
Montana State University ecology professor Brian Smithers took 15 students on a trip to Kenya, the first faculty-led study abroad trip for the university since the pandemic's start.
Montana State University ecology professor Brian Smithers took 15 students on a trip to Kenya, the first faculty-led study abroad trip for the university since the pandemic’s start.
Montana State University ecology professor Brian Smithers took 15 students on a trip to Kenya, the first faculty-led study abroad trip for the university since the pandemic's start.
Montana State University ecology professor Brian Smithers took 15 students on a trip to Kenya, the first faculty-led study abroad trip for the university since the pandemic's start.
Montana State University ecology professor Brian Smithers took 15 students on a trip to Kenya, the first faculty-led study abroad trip for the university since the pandemic's start.
Montana State University ecology professor Brian Smithers took 15 students on a trip to Kenya, the first faculty-led study abroad trip for the university since the pandemic's start.
Montana State University ecology professor Brian Smithers took 15 students on a trip to Kenya, the first faculty-led study abroad trip for the university since the pandemic’s start.
Montana State University ecology professor Brian Smithers took 15 students on a trip to Kenya, the first faculty-led study abroad trip for the university since the pandemic's start.
Montana State University ecology professor Brian Smithers took 15 students on a trip to Kenya, the first faculty-led study abroad trip for the university since the pandemic's start.
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Brian Smithers and his Montana State University students started their push for the summit of Africa’s second highest peak around 1 a.m., the culmination of a days-long trek. Heads down and headlamps on, the crew focused on putting one-step in front of the other in the thin mountain air as they neared the summit of the 17,000-foot Mt. Kenya.
They were well above cloud level when the sun crested above the clouds.
“The sun just exploded above the clouds and we were just below the summit,” Smithers said. “There’s this beautiful light and we could finally see the summit. It was a powerful moment for everybody.”
The students suddenly had “an extra bounce in their step” and a renewed dedication to reach the top, he said.
Led by Smithers, an alpine ecologist and professor in MSU’s department of ecology, it was part of a four-week summer class, “Kenya and the World’s Biomes.” The class was split between two weeks in Bozeman and two weeks in Kenya.
The trip was MSU’s first faculty-led study abroad trip since the COVID-19 pandemic started. The pandemic impacted the ability of many students to do a semester abroad, which typically happens in their sophomore or junior year due to constraints for upper-level major courses.
“They come to college thinking they want to study abroad and then COVID happens. For a number of these students, it was their only chance,” Smithers said of the summer study abroad trip.
In addition to the five days up and back on Mt. Kenya, the students also explored conservation and game parks, including one where they saw the last two white rhinos.
“They will be extinct in (the students’) lifetimes,” Smithers said. “It’s life changing to see these animals that you read about and see on nature shows. There are things you don’t think you’ll see in reality that the students saw.”
Smithers had originally planned a similar study abroad trip for the summer of 2020, which had been in the works since 2019. The class was full of students who had paid for the class, bought plane tickets and received travel visas.
While he and the students were disappointed, Smithers said, it was important to remember that there were bigger problems happening during that time in the pandemic. Two of the students who had signed up for the original class were able to make the Kenya trip.
“A lot of things were sacrificed at the alter of COVID in 2020,” he said.
For about half of the 15-student group, it was the first time they left the country, Smithers said.
“There’s no substitute for seeing the world,” Smithers said. “I don’t want to pretend that spending two weeks as a student tourist will change the world but it opens people up to how others are living.”
Upon their return, a handful of students researched different charities and organized donations, according to Smithers.
Smithers hopes to hold the Kenya trip every other year and is considering an ocean to mountaintop exploration class in Borneo or Costa Rica.
Looking ahead, there are already quite a few faculty-led trips in the works for the next year or so, according to Toby Blake, MSU’s faculty-led study abroad coordinator. Some countries with trips in the works include Belize, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Tanzania, Morocco and Peru.
Prior to COVID-19, MSU hosted between 10 and 20 faculty-led group trips abroad each year, Blake said.
“Coming out of COVID, we’re kind of starting from scratch a bit,” he said, adding it was an opportunity to do new and different things.
One new plan could see a handful of MSU study abroad trips open up to alumni or people living in the Bozeman area, Blake said. While the model is in the early planning stages, he said, the university is looking ahead at allowing the general public opportunities to travel with MSU faculty and students.
It typically takes professors and departments between 10 and 12 months to plan and execute a study abroad trip, which can take place during the summer, fall or spring semesters. Many of the trips have projected dates in 2023, but a College of Nursing trip to Tanzania could happen as early as November 2022, according to Blake.
With COVID has come an extra layer of procedural and compliance steps when planning trips, Blake said. Before the pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. State Department might have 10% to 15% of countries on a high travel advisory level. But with the pandemic that has jumped to around 85%, with advisories constantly changing.
“It does offer a couple extra layers of security and steps that our office needs to go through,” Blake said.
For Smithers, the planning and work are worth it to bring these experiences to students. He recalls a similar trip he took as a student to East Africa.
“It changed the trajectory of my career and I said if I end up in academia this is what I want to do for students,” he said.
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Liz Weber can be reached at lweber@dailychronicle.com or 582-2633.
Liz Weber covers education for the Chronicle.
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