Continuing a long tradition, freshmen at the International School of the Americas (ISA) travel to Houston, TX to visit parks, museums, nonprofit groups, and educational institutions. This immersive trip allows students to explore what it means to travel compassionately as globally-minded citizens.

Only 3-5 hours of charter coach travel one way, students investigate and explore the lively metropolitan area of Houston. Guided by the central question “How do I learn from and contribute to the global community?” students visit cultural attractions including museums, restaurants, NASA and more. Through first-hand experiences engaging with and learning from diverse communities, students broaden their perspectives and reflect on how to positively impact the world around them. This trip builds on ISA’s mission to shape graduates ready to serve as ethical leaders in an increasingly interconnected world.

Sophomores at ISA embark on an immersive trip to New Mexico to examine cultural diffusion and the complex impacts of assimilation versus acculturation. Students travel via charter coach to explore Santa Fe, Los Alamos, and Albuquerque along with two overnight trips to visit the Carlsbad Caverns and White Sands National Monument over 8-10 hours away.

Based on essential questions like “What divides and connects people?” and “To what extent is cultural identity important?” students visit museums and monuments to reflect on how historical events have shaped modern communities and citizens. With the analysis of how cultures blend and exchange ideas over time, the trip provides key learning experiences about preserving identity in an interconnected world.

The sophomore trip additionally includes the iconic sights of the Bandolier and Petroglyph National Monuments, the New Mexico History Museum, National Museum of Nuclear History Museum, Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, and Museum of International Folk Art. By directly engaging with the cultures of New Mexico, students gain perspective on the long-term struggles of retaining heritage and better understand what it means to be a compassionate global citizen.

ISA Juniors travel to Alabama to immerse themselves for a week in the history of the civil rights movement and explore modern struggles for justice and equality. After 10-12 hours of coach travel with an overnight stop in Louisiana, students visit Birmingham, Montgomery, and Selma.

At historic sites like 16th Street Baptist Church, Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, and the Edmund Pettus Bridge, students reflect on the courage shown by activists amid intense discrimination. They also have the opportunity to speak with Civil Rights experts, allowing students to build their understanding of race issues concerning the United States after the Civil War.

Students also visit contemporary sites like the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Kelly Ingram Park, the Legacy Museum, and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, having the option to interact with Students’ March participants and staff from the Equal Justice Initiative. This inspirational trip will encourage students to build empathy, think critically about persisting inequities and uplift marginalized voices in their own communities as they ask themselves, “How do we define justice and what is my role?”

The capstone travel experience for seniors at the International School of the Americas is a trip to Washington D.C., with the challenge of investigating and proposing policy solutions for an identified need in San Antonio.

Prior to departure, students conduct field research and interviews around our city to gather diverse local perspectives on their chosen issue. In D.C., students establish their own itinerary to synthesize their findings; meeting with international embassies, elected officials, nonprofits and more to understand how policy is shaped at the national and global level. Students also plan site visits to Smithsonian Institute Museums, National Monuments, and the National Holocaust Memorial Museum, contextualizing their topics historically and culturally.

Throughout this intensive process, students practice skills aligned to ISA’s graduate profile. They investigate world issues by developing research questions, recognizing varied viewpoints from their collected data, and communicating ideas by proposing formal policy recommendations. Finally, students take action to raise awareness and advocate for implementation in San Antonio. This experiential capstone empowers graduates to lead compassionately through critical analysis of how local, national, and global communities are interconnected.