Over winter break, University of the Pacific took 20 first-year students on an immersive learning experience to Chile focused on culture, history and science.

Pacific covered the entire cost of the 12-day trip. Students spent the first five days at the Universidad de los Andes, where they attended lectures on Chilean history, learned about astronomy and prepared traditional cuisine.

“I've never traveled abroad with a school like this, before. I really wanted to take this opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and try something new,” said civil engineering major Erick Ramirez Jimenez ’29. “This trip has inspired me to study abroad more and go out to another country. If it wasn't for this trip, I don't know if I would be making that decision, it's just really opened my eyes to see a new culture. It was amazing.

“We made Pastel de choclo. It was so good, and I was excited they gave us the recipe,” said Ramirez Jimenez. “All the people there that were helping us and giving us the instructions were really nice.”

Students also visited museums and cultural sites in Santiago, then traveled to Valparaiso, where they toured two houses of Chilean poet and Nobel Prize winner Pablo de Ruda. From there, they spent three days in Atacama Desert, where they visited an observatory and were able to stargaze due to the lower light pollution, before returning to Santiago as part of their jam-packed itinerary.

The programming was designed to benefit students across disciplines, rather than one specific major. Lee Skinner, dean of the College of the Pacific, led the trip alongside Professor of Civil Engineering Hector Estrada, an expert on earthquakes. Chile is one of the top countries for earthquake research.

“I love engineering, but I was fortunate to take in all this other information,” Ramirez Jimenez said. “Dr. Skinner gave us rich knowledge in both English and Spanish. We had the earthquake lecture from Dr. Estrada. We had Chilean economy lectures from professors at the university there. Gaining different pieces of knowledge from each professor was amazing.”

“It was wonderful to travel with students to a part of the world they had never experienced. The students were immersed in Chilean culture, lived with Chilean families and went on trips and excursions that broadened their perspectives,” said Skinner. “We talked about cultural similarities and differences in everything from food to public transportation to economics. The trip sparked their interest in further study and travel abroad, which is exactly what we hope to see—part of our mission at Pacific is to help our students acquire a truly global understanding.”

Director of Global Education Witold Wolny said the trip supports Pacific’s retention goals, while offering a transformative, global-minded experience for students.

“Participation in study abroad programs increase retention,” Wolny said. “Students feel more connected to the institution, and during trips, they hang out with other students and faculty. Personal and emotional ties are created, which has a high impact on students’ experience at Pacific.”

Erik Ventura ’29 said the trip left him with valuable friendships.

“The experience gave me the opportunity to meet other students. I found some friends along the way that I definitely see myself having a lifelong friendship with. Professor Strada and Dean Skinner mentioned how we how they were lucky to receive a group that was so connected with each other, so it was a really nice experience for everybody.”

Wolny said the trip also helped students gain confidence, especially those traveling internationally for the first time.

“For many of these students, even navigating an airport was new, and those small lessons—how to get to the plane, how to travel independently—were often more powerful than we realized, because they helped students see that they could do this,” Wolny explained. “Experiencing life on the other side of the world with different people, cultures, foods and ways of interacting, expanded their sense of what the world is and where they fit within it.

“Most meaningful of all were the human connections they formed. They are still talking, sharing their lives and staying connected, which told me something special truly happened during those 12 days,” he said.

Unlike traditional study abroad programs, this experience is open to Pacific first year students from all backgrounds and GPAs, giving them a rare and unforgettable learning experience.

“I’m incredibly grateful that Pacific chose to offer this truly special opportunity, something few universities do,” Wolny said. 

Learn more about study abroad opportunities with Pacific.