By Jack Freedman, Reporter
As the semester reaches its halfway point, several University of Mary Hardin-Baylor professors are planning trips across the world to enrich the education of their students. As of now there are more than a dozen trips in the works that will take place during 2025.
“This is a tremendous way for students to enhance their education,” said Dr. David Holcomb, leader of the trip to London in spring 2025. “It’s the best way to understand new cultures and people. It deepens your awareness of other cultures.”
UMHB hosts a semester-long London study abroad trip every spring. is hosted by the School of Humanities, but is open to all students.
“I usually recruit about a year in advance,” Holcomb said. “Early next semester I’ll have all that (for 2026) and the application will go online in February (2025). I need those interested to get on my email list.”
Not all study abroad trips last the same length of time. Some trips last an entire semester, while others only last a few weeks.
Some trips are often reserved for specific majors, such as the upcoming Lithuania trip in May 2025, which caters toward business students. Many of the foreign language programs offer trips to countries where their respective languages are prominent as well.
“The Lithuania trip during May is designed mostly for business majors,” said Dr. Larry Lock, leader of the Lithuania trip. “It’s good to see how businesses are run in other countries. It turns out that business culture is different elsewhere. These are all global markets and knowing how they work is vital.”
In addition to core classes, these trips offer unique courses that are suited to the location and major of the travelers.
“They give you this whole list of classes you can take from the professors at UMHB,” Keely Mills, junior and participant in the 2024 London trip, said. “We took classes based on British history and culture along with some core classes. We partnered with two different groups: a married couple that teach British culture and an Irish professor of theater.”
Study abroad is generally recommended to all students, by both professors and students who have previously gone on a study abroad trip. Many people who have studied abroad or led a study abroad program agree that it has deepened their understanding of how the world works.
“Even if you can’t do a full semester study abroad, try your best to participate in some sort of [short-term] study abroad experience,” Holcomb said. “What I tell students is: “If you can do a full semester study abroad, take some opportunity to add that as an experience. Plus, it’s easier to do it now than after college due to the financial situation.”
However, many professors agree that there needs to be a certain level of maturity in order to travel abroad.
“Anytime you get to see the U.S. from outside the trees, you never see it the same,” Locke said. “The chance to see how things are done in another country makes you wonder why we do things in our country. I would recommend [study abroad] for reasons other than just to go, but I wouldn’t recommend it to everybody. Not everybody is ready. You want people to mature. Some students may be worried about what the experience might be like. But I would answer that concern by saying that study abroad is the best way to learn how to travel internationally. You have friends and people who take care of you.”
Mills said she deeply enjoyed her trip and gained a better understanding about things that she wouldn’t have learned by not studying abroad.
“I support study abroad and have a passion for traveling,” Mills said. “I want to be a photojournalist, and this helped me see the world.”
