Students Expand Horizons Through Global March 2025 Trips

Belmont Hill’s March 2025 trips were a great success, with nearly 100 boys (and 15 chaperones) travelling to Iceland, Italy, Taiwan, and the American South. Designed to reinforce Belmont Hill’s academic and co-curricular programs, the trips immersed students in social and archaeological histories, local economies and cultures, collaborative problem-solving, and new relationships.

The annual African-American Culture and History Trip to the South, led by Chris Zellner and chaperoned by Stephen George and Dan DeFraia offered four Form II students the chance to witness in-person the ways in which African Americans creatively and resiliently responded to the institutional violence and obstacles of slavery and Jim Crow. According to Finn Davis ‘29, “it was often very sad and uncomfortable as that is how the history is.”

Organized by Sustainability Coordinator George Sullivan ‘07 with Atlas Workshops, the School’s inaugural Sustainability trip was to Iceland, inspired by Tyson Trautz’s summer 2024 Byrnes Family Foundation-funded exploration of the country’s sophisticated geothermal infrastructure. Along with chaperones Chris Sweeney ‘83, Joe LaLiberte ‘14, and Sam Messina, 32 boys from Forms III-VI split into two groups, following reverse itineraries that included touring the capital Reykjavik, sampling Icelandic fare, and excursions to glaciers, ice caves, lagoons and hot springs.  The lagoons were a highlight, with many boys saying they felt more relaxed than they could remember. On the sustainability side, groups visited the Hellisheiði geothermal power plant, which powers Reykjavik (home to 60% of the country’s population), and ate lunch at the Fridheimar hydroponic farm, which grows food year round, thanks to its stable supply of geothermal energy. Sustainability Club member Nicky Jones ‘26 appreciated the chance to speak with Hildur, a local politician, and learn “a lot about environment and sustainability.”

Destination: Taiwan. For the 2025 Chinese Heritage trip – our first to Asia since the COVID pandemic, 24 boys ventured to the beautiful island on an itinerary developed by Real Asia together with trip leader Penghua Shen. Chaperones Jake DeCaprio ‘16, and Lawrence Lopez helped lead the adventure, wowing the boys with their fluency in Mandarin. Chock full of adventure and local culture, the itinerary featured temple visits, a trek to Elephant Mountain, tea tasting, and excursions to Taipei’s famous Night Markets.  A highlight for all was the group’s cooking class and lunch shared with students at the Juang Jing Vocational Institute. Brady Paquette ‘25, a four-year veteran of our Chinese program, embraced the chance to speak with locals and bond with younger Belmont Hill brothers, saying “I learned that the BH language curriculum is really strong and mainly just props to Mr. Shen. It made me stretch beyond my comfort zone through interacting with younger kids on a friend to friend basis.”

With Trip Leader Dr. Todd Davis leading the charge and supported by chaperones Corey Cofield and Celine Pak, 18 classics scholars traveled to Italy to explore ancient ruins and history. Coordinated by Atlas Workshops, this classics-focused tour served up physical, culinary, and historical adventures from Naples to Paestum and from Pompeii to Rome. Boys relished the chance to decipher Latin inscriptions for themselves, to explore ruins and Rome, and to witness some newly excavated sites. The hike around Mount Vesuvius and Naples underground tour of an ancient aqueduct were trip highlights, and boys loved the views over the Bay of Naples as well as the chance to explore an ancient Greek waterway that remained in use for 2000 years.

Finally, in the wee hours of the first day of break, 15 boys traveled to New Orleans for this year’s service trip. Organized by Juliette Zener and chaperoned by Chef Tony Maws ‘88 and Brother Donnell Patterson, the itinerary centered on Service, Sustenance, and Song and delivered a healthy serving of all! From their base at the Youth Rebuilding New Orleans bunkhouse, boys ventured out to service sites around the city, helping rebuild an elderly widow’s fence and garden, bagging recycled glass sand for marsh restoration, and painting parking lot lines. Patrick Snail ‘28 observed that it “was extremely rewarding to take in all we had completed when we removed the painters tape.” As for food, the boys feasted on famous New Orleans fare, from Café du Monde beignets to every variety of po’boy: fried catfish, shrimp, soft shell crab, and even alligator sausage! As for Song, the city did not disappoint, serving up a classic Big Easy wedding parade, a Sunday full gospel, a Super Sunday parade of Mardi Gras Indians, and even a music theory lesson at the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music, co-founded by Ann Marie Wilkins P’20.

Thank you to all the boys who participated and the faculty who planned and chaperoned the March trips.  Rooted in the school’s commitment to educating boys to good character, the Global Experiences trips program strives to expand boys’ horizons, immersing them in unfamiliar cultural and social settings, providing them the opportunity to stretch their zones of comfort. In the words of one traveler, “I met many new people who I never thought I would be friends with. The experience taught me to be more open to ideas and relationships.”

Click here to learn more about Global Experiences at Belmont Hill.