St. Joe Students Look Ahead to an Unforgettable Summer
By: Francesca Giardina, Senior Staff Writer
As the 2025-2026 school year begins to come to an end, St. Joe students and faculty are already looking forward to summer break. Whether staying close in St. Louis or traveling across the globe, students are making their plans.
For many, summer is a time to spend time with family and friends, relax by the pool, work jobs, or simply just take a break. However, others take advantage of the incredible travel opportunities available to them through the St. Joe Global Travel Program. This year, the school is providing a wide range of trips that allow students to travel around the world.
One trip is the Italy and Greece trip, which unlike others, isn’t an exchange program. It is a two-week trip where travelers have the opportunity to visit many of the historic landmarks, restaurants, and participate in the activities unique to both of these countries.
In addition, St. Joe offers several exchange trips designed to fully immerse students in different cultures. Students traveling to Krakow and Gdynia, Poland will participate in a cultural immersion experience that includes service projects at high schools. Also, they will visit important historical sites such as Schindler’s Museum, the WWII museum, and the Solidarity Museum. The Pamplona, Spain trip allows students to live with a host family, experience local traditions, see where the running of the bulls happens, walk parts of the Camino de Santiago, and visit San Sebastian.
For those interested in South America, the Santiago, Chile trip offers a blend of school life with travel. Students will attend classes, live with host families, and travel to Valparaiso. Similarly, the Bucaramanga, Colombia trip allows students to participate in an immersion program at Colegio San Pedro Claver. Students will participate in school activities, attend classes, and go on field trips while living with host families.
The Taiwan trip offers a different cultural experience, where students will visit multiple cities, interact with Taiwanese peers, learn to surf, and visit a tea farm and partner schools located there. Lastly, the Fulda, Germany exchange gives students the opportunity to stay with host families, attend classes, and be fully immersed in German life.
These trips allow students to travel, gain independence, and experience once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. Of course, not every student is traveling abroad, and summer plans vary widely across the St. Joe Community.
Sophomore Maddie Moore shares her travel plans.
“I am going to a marine biology camp this summer in the Florida Keys,” said Maddie.
Another sophomore, Lena Symth, also has an impactful summer plan.
“I am participating in a week-long service project called Christpower where we go to organizations around St. Louis and help out,” said Lena.
No matter how students choose to spend their summer, it is clear that this break will be full of memorable experiences for the entire community. Everyone is ready to make the most of every moment this summer.
