Do you want to give your children the gift of travel? The chance to grow more independent and experience other cultures? To see the world that exists beyond the central valley of California? I'm here to help make it happen. I am a passionate teacher who wants to give her students the world, literally.
My name is Ms. Taylor Champlin. I have been a high school math teacher in Hanford, CA for the past five years. I never once thought I would find the opportunity to travel abroad, let alone take students on adventures with me, but here I am!
I have partnered with EF Educational Tours to lead student tours around the world.
So far I have been sent off on a training tour to Lisbon, Portugal in February of 2022. Essentially, I was a "student" on a tour and was led by other teacher group leaders and EF Tours staff. This was an INCREDIBLE experience. I learned so much about how to lead a successful tour and create the best possible experience for my students.
Upcoming Trips
In July of 2022, I will be taking a small group of students to London and Paris for a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics) tour. This will be my first tour abroad with students and I am so incredibly excited to share pictures and details about the trip! We were supposed to go on this trip in July of 2021. Unfortunately, with the pandemic travel restrictions, we had to push it back to this upcoming summer. This resulted in some students having to cancel the trip. It broke my heart that they will miss out on this experience, but I hope they get to experience travel in the near future!
I have two trips planned for 2023! I will be leading students through New York and Washington DC on spring break of 2023, and I will be taking students to adventure through Costa Rica in July of 2023. I am so excited for these trips! Learn more about enrolling on these trips in these posts: "Washington D.C. and New York" and "Costa Rica Enrollment".
How did I begin working with EF?
I moved back home to Hanford, CA after I spent four years at Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo. About a year after I moved back I got a roommate who was a fellow math teacher at the school I worked at. Grace was from Indonesia and is an inspirational world traveler. Her plans to take students abroad to the Swiss Alps and Germany inspired me to look into setting up my own tours abroad. Grace has since moved away to be closer to her family, but she is still taking a group of our students abroad this summer! I am so grateful Grace introduced me to Cassie (my original tour consultant) at EF Tours.
My Travel Background
I grew up in Hanford, CA, and never had the opportunity to travel abroad as I was growing up. I would have loved to experience other parts of the world before I graduated high school. Up until I was sent to Portugal for my group leader training, I had never been out of the country besides a cruise down to Mexico! I had been on a plane to Spokane, Washington one time, and have driven to Oregon a few times. That's about it! When I went to Portugal it was an illuminating experience navigating multiple airports and new cities in countries I've never been in. I met so many people I otherwise would have never gotten the chance to meet. I want our students to have this opportunity. It is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience that has the ability to change their perspective on life in the best way possible.
Non-School or District Affiliated
I need to be sure to emphasize that these trips are solely through me and EF Tours. I am not doing this through any school or school district; therefore, I am open to allowing students on my trips from schools other than the one I work at. I would love to expand this opportunity to as many high school students as I can. I do plan to look into trips for 8th grade students, but for now I am focusing on high school and college-aged students. Even if a student graduates from high school, they can still attend a trip with me as long as they are enrolled at a college and are under the age of 20. Of course, I will want to meet all students before they sign up on the tour. I will be responsible for the students I take on the trip so I want to be sure to get to know everyone! Be sure to keep an eye out for a blog post in the near future about my behavior expectations for these trips.
Why did I partner with EF?
EF has over 50 years of experience and built a solid global reputation on providing educational travel that allows students to safely experience new cultures and languages. It’s also a comfort to know that they have 460 offices and schools in over 50 countries. Wherever we travel, help is right around the corner if needed.
Want to be kept in the loop?
Even if your student isn't ready to travel now, I plan to continue to put on trips for years to come! I do my best to plan them a year or more in advance so the cost is more manageable and students have time to raise money. Subscribe below to continue to be kept in the loop on upcoming travel opportunities!
♡ Ms. Champlin
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