273 Students to Travel Abroad this January 

When you come to Taylor University, it’s a good idea to have your passport ready to go. From month-long academic or service trips in January to full semesters abroad, Taylor is one of the most globally engaged colleges in the Council of Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU). Approximately 25% of the student body travels each year.  

“The world is increasingly complex and diverse, and it’s important for our students to develop skills that equip them to engage in a diverse world,” said Jennifer Moeschberger, Director of Off-Campus Programs. “It’s experiential learning at its best.” 

For many of those students, taking advantage of January term (J-term) to seek global engagement is the best choice. Taylor’s J-term takes place between the fall and spring semesters. During J-term, students can either take an intensive class on campus or participate in experiential learning abroad.  

While many students desire to spend a full semester learning in another culture, including the 23 students who participated in semester abroad trips this past fall, others find that three to four weeks is a more manageable time frame. This allows more time for classes and community activities on campus during the semesters but also provides a way for students to be fully dedicated to their trip during the shorter J-term. J-term travel is especially ideal for athletes who want the study abroad learning experience but also need to be present for training and competition during the fall or spring semesters.  

Global Opportunities to Learn and Serve 

J-term travel can take the form of a service-learning experience or academic credit.   

Lighthouse trips are service-oriented, short-term mission trips. The goals of Lighthouse trips are to enter other cultures as humble servant-leaders, embody the core values in the Standards of Excellence in Short-Term Missions, serve as lights of God’s love and compassion, and become beacons of deeper faith to those who serve in these communities.   

Anna Mitchell ‘27, who will be going on a Lighthouse trip to Hungary this January, shared that their team will be partnering with local ministries in Budapest.   

“We are trying to enter into this work with humility and open hearts, ready to see where God will take us and how we can provide support where He is already at work,” she said.   

Students participating in a Lighthouse trip regularly attend meetings in the months leading up to the trip to prepare them spiritually and culturally. They also participate in debriefing conversations to process their experiences after they return home.   

An academic J-term trip can be taken for academic credit. Academic trips provide students with the opportunity to study abroad and immerse themselves in a deeper learning experience through cultural engagement related to a particular field of study. For example, students may choose to travel to Greece and Italy to explore Paul’s missionary journeys and satisfy a core Bible credit.  

“Our faith is an active faith; we’re not just supposed to just sit within our village borders,” said Dr. Scott Moeschberger, director of the Honors Guild who will be traveling with 55 Honors students to Italy. “We must recognize that the Body of Christ is a global family. It’s an incredibly powerful experience for our students to see and experience this firsthand, while they are connecting what they’re learning in textbooks to what they’re seeing in real time.” 

This upcoming January, Taylor will send over 270 students abroad on international J-term trips.  (Numbers may flux between now and the departure times.) 

• 18 students will spend January in Great Britain on the popular Literary London trip where they will take a study tour of major British authors and enjoy extensive sightseeing with the English Department.  
• 47 students will accompany the Bible, Christian Ministries, Intercultural Studies, & Philosophy department on the Footsteps of Paul trip, visiting locations that were significant to Paul’s ministry in Greece and Italy.   
• 22 students will travel to Belize as a practicum trip for Orphaned and Vulnerable Children (OVC) and Education majors, where they will spend three weeks teaching and serving in agencies or classrooms.  
• 12 students will travel to Florida with the Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship to study Global Entrepreneurship and Business as Mission.  
• 55 students will travel to Italy on this year’s Honors trip.  
• 16 students will study in Hawaii to explore ecosystems, conservation, biodiversity, and formation of Hawaiian Islands and the geologic forces that continue to shape them.  
• 18 students will travel to South Africa to study Contemporary Christian Belief.  
• 11 students will have an immersive Spanish experience in Guatemala, where they will live with host families and receive one-on-one instruction for a Spanish course on the beautiful Lake Atitlan.  
• 10 students will go to Indonesia to complete a TESOL course and teach English on the islands of Java and Bali.  
• 40 students will go to Honduras, Hungary, Southeast Asia, and Uganda on Lighthouse service trips   
• 5 students will go to the Netherlands for Computer Science. 

Over 30 International Students on Campus in J-Term  

Meanwhile, Taylor will welcome 22-25 high school students from South Korea, Japan, and Brazil for Prospect Camp in J-Term. Prospect is a J-Term and Summer international camp for high schoolers directed by Dr. Chin Chang under the Spencer Center for Global Engagement. Prospect is dedicated to empowering the next generation of Christian talents for global impact.  

Additionally, four students from Stranmillis University College in Belfast (Northern Ireland) and eight from the University of Azuay in Ecuador will join Taylor students in classroom experience and community life on campus.  

Cultivating Global Engagement 

The Spencer Center for Global Engagement and Taylor World Outreach work year-round to seek meaningful opportunities for students to grow in global contextual experience and cultural competence.