Have Bible, will travel
LU Send offers students short-term travel opportunities with a lasting impact
Liberty University students have the opportunity to travel far beyond their classrooms and experience the cultures of Switzerland, Romania, Central Asia and many other locations while representing Christ.
Through LU Send, students can take advantage of these travel opportunities over breaks and earn course credit.
The organization, which was formed in June 2015, merged separate entities that coordinated trips to create a more holistic approach to student group travel.
Previously, the Center for Student Travel focused on academic trips while the Center for Global Engagement was more missions-minded.
LU Send was established to unite both of these goals, said Brandon Milks, associate director of LU Send.
“What (David Nasser) and Dr. Hawkins saw, along with executive leadership, was that as a large Christian university, we should be fusing those two together,” Milks said. “That’s where this mindset came in of creating excellent trips that encompass … academics, missions and cultural engagement.”
REBUILD — Liberty University students, using their time and talents to assist others, traveled to Louisiana to help rebuild parts of the state that were ravaged by the recent flooding. Photo credit: Kasey Lange
LU Send is one of several new branches under the Office of Spiritual Development, headed by David Nasser, but it also reports to the Office of the Provost when it comes to the academic components of trips.
During spring and summer break next semester, LU Send will offer a variety of trips.
Trips to locations such as Germany or Israel will count as course credit for Bible or theology courses required for all students.
Other trips are tailored to specific majors. LU Send is hosting a crisis counseling trip to Ukraine, a history trip to Germany, and a government trip to Guatemala.
For a complete list of trips, students can visit the LU Send Student Portal on Liberty’s website.
Milks believes students have opportunities through travel that cannot be experienced inside a classroom.
Some of these benefits include engaging with other cultures, building resumes, and connecting more deeply with faculty, Milks said.
“There’s always a barrier that’s going to be there—whether it be finance or not wanting to miss out on what friends are doing—but there’s huge benefits to going,” Milks said.
The financial factor can be a hurdle for college students such as Victoria Dissmore.
However, through working over breaks and raising support, Dissmore was able to travel to Israel with LU Send over spring break this past year.
“It was definitely one of the best experiences of my life,” Dissmore said. “I’m so thankful that Liberty has opportunities through LU Send for students to go on trips.”
Dissmore, who received credit for Bible 105 through the trip, appreciated the wisdom she gained from the faculty members, particularly Professor and Vice Provost Dr. Ben Gutierrez.
“Seeing all the different places in Israel was one thing, but also when (Gutierrez) talked to us, everything he said to us enhanced what we were seeing even further,” Dissmore said.
Milks, who led the Israel trip with Gutierrez, was encouraged by the response from students last year.
“I was shocked to see how many students we got for London and Paris at first, and then for Israel in just a couple of months,”
Milks said.
Students should begin preparing for these trips as early as possible, Milks said. The application for spring trips will be available Sept. 7 on LU Send’s web page.
The cost for these international trips varies based on the location, but the amount is between $2,000 and $4,000.
According to Milks, most people associate LU Send with their disaster-relief branch, LU Send Now.
Students interested in serving with that program will have a one to two week window to apply which will be announced soon.
LU Send Now transports students to domestic and international locations to work with other organizations to provide humanitarian aid.
During the last several weeks, the program sent two trips of more than 50 students to Louisiana in response to the flooding.
As LU Send grows, Milks and the other staff “want to start creating a culture here on campus that we call the internationalization of our campus.”
He hopes these trips can spark future international internships and careers for Liberty students.
“We want to see our students get this global mindset,” Milks said. “We want to look at the Great Commission with
something more than eyes. … We want to putfeet to that.”
COVEY is a feature reporter.