There's something powerful about the moment a student steps off a plane and realizes the world they've imagined through textbooks and screens is suddenly real, present, and alive. For many at Centralia High School, that moment comes through CHS Travelers, the educational travel program now entering its fifth expedition—and shaping young people in ways that follow them far beyond graduation.

The program is coordinated by geography teacher Kalani Aydt, whose love for human geography—the cultures, cuisines, languages, and customs that shape global life—has always pushed her teaching beyond the classroom. Travel became a natural extension. "This is a really awesome way for kids to immerse themselves in another country's culture in a way that they might not have a chance to otherwise," she said. Over the past several years, she and groups of CHS students have walked the alleys of Rome, felt the coastal light of Monaco, traced the ancient contours of France, and taken in the wide plazas of Spain.

The program began as Spanish Travelers, started by former colleague Melissa Lopez. When Lopez left CHS for a new position, Aydt took it over and expanded it into CHS Travelers, opening up destinations beyond Spanish-speaking countries. She now partners with Mr. Coffey to coordinate the trips.

Aydt works with WorldStrides, the international educational travel organization that coordinates logistics for schools across the country. The trips are self-pay, with payment plans available. For most families, the affordability is remarkable—flights and hotels alone would exceed the total cost, but it's the curated experiences that make the greatest impact. In Barcelona, students learned to prepare authentic seafood paella, vegetable paella, tomato bread, and a creme brulee-style dessert. In the Scottish Highlands, they learned traditional dances like the Eightsome Reel. These are not tourist snapshots; they're moments of immersion.

Two seniors, Aurora Amason and Lorren Niederhofer, experienced the most recent journey—a multi-country rotation through Spain, Italy, France, and Monaco—and their memories reflect both wonder and awakening. Lorren still laughs about the surprise of cultural differences and the unusual design of European water bottle caps—little details that remind travelers they've stepped into a different ecosystem of norms. Aurora was struck by something deeper: how close everything feels in Europe. "You can walk pretty much everywhere. And that's what we did. We walked around like pretty much every city or town we visited. It's not like that here."

They also found that Europe felt far safer than many first-time travelers fear. "We had one incident the whole time where we watched somebody get their purse stolen," Aurora said. But otherwise, the experience contradicted the typical warnings. Aydt agreed: in four major trips, she has never once felt unsafe or unwelcome. And everywhere they went, the group tried speaking local languages—sometimes stumbling, sometimes gaining momentum—earning appreciation even when the conversations quickly outpaced their abilities.

It becomes clear, listening to them, why Mark Twain once wrote that "travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness." That truth reveals itself quietly in their stories—not as a lecture, but as the widening of perspective that only happens when students find themselves in a world different from their own.

For Aurora and Lorren, the experience has already begun shaping the futures they are building. Both are heading into STEM fields—Aurora to Missouri S&T for mechanical engineering, and Lorren deciding between Murray State and SIUE for electrical or robotics engineering. Whether they return to Centralia one day or build lives elsewhere, they'll carry with them the expanded worldview they gained abroad. "I'll always come back here. I have family that lives here and I have friends that live here," Lorren said. But she also noted that living in Kentucky "would just be smarter" for cost and tax reasons.

Aydt's commitment to making these trips accessible remains strong. WorldStrides offers financial aid directly, but Aydt is quick to add that "if a child really wants to go, but financially it isn't possible, I will look into any possible mechanism to help... rally the community to help cover costs, if that's possible." Having been shaped by travel herself—dragged all over by a mother who loved exploring—she wants her students to experience the same transformation. "I just do think it's such an important, like, part of life," she said.

CHS Travelers isn't just about itineraries or sightseeing. It's about broadening horizons for students who may never have imagined themselves standing beneath the Eiffel Tower or learning a Highland dance in Scotland. It's about teaching them that the world is both bigger and more welcoming than they realized. And maybe most importantly—it's about showing them that they belong in it.