(Map courtesy of Douwe Osinga)

To me, there is nothing more exciting than exploring and visiting new and diverse places. I have always loved to travel and while much of this world map appears to be blank, I have had several opportunities over the last few years to embark on some great trips. Highlighted are quick overviews of my international ventures:

Montreal, Quebec, Canada
March 2002

In my sophomore year of high school, Holy Ghost Prep's concert band and chorus joined Nazareth Academy on a long weekend in the city of Montreal. The ensembles competed against other schools from the United States. While most of the trip focused on performing, it included some sightseeing of the beautiful city.

Germany, Austria, Belgium, and The Netherlands
June 5-26, 2003

In the summer preceding my senior year of high school, I participated in a foreign exchange program with our sister high school in Aachen, Germany, Heilig-Geist-Gymnasium. Our German counterparts visited the United States in April. For a little over two weeks, I lived outside of Aachen in the town of Herzogenrath with my exchange partner and his family. I spent considerable time in the city of Aachen between sightseeing, trips with my exchange family, and the world-famous horse riding festival Chio. The school also facilitated day trips to the city of Cologne and the tiny village of Munschau. Since we lived close to international borders, my exchange family even took me through some sites in Belgium and The Netherlands. The trip wrapped up with a 4-day stay in Munich, which included a day trip to Salzburg, Austria.

San Salvador, Bahamas
May 14-21, 2005

During my freshman spring semester at Penn State, I was lucky enough to enroll in EM SC 497A, a class entitled Coral Reef Ecosystems. The class covered many aspects of coral reefs, including a geological look at reef formation as well as threats to reefs. The trip concluded with a week-long stay on the island of San Salvador in the Bahamas, where the small class of 18 students conducted research for the international Reef Check organization on reef and species conditions in San Salvador. The trip also included several field trips to caves and cultural sites across the small island.