Staff Spotlight: Colin Moe

Colin grew up and lives in Farmington, Minnesota. He enjoys reading philosophy, journaling, and spending time with friends.

I had the opportunity to travel to Italy with my friend Derek this year for the following Summer program. We were there to visit the apartments and tour the areas in which our students would be visiting for the following year.

I really enjoyed my time in Rome and Florence. It was a genuine experience being able to see all the historical sights right before your eyes. All of the things I had read and heard about in stories were suddenly within arm’s reach.

Once place in specific I enjoyed was the ‘rock of Dante’ in Florence, where Dante wrote the Inferno. It was a rock in the city, hidden away, that you could sit on and reflect just as Dante did. It is an incredible moment that I hope to share with my students in the programs to come.

Since working for World Class Programs, I have learned and grown both personally as a traveler and professionally as a philosopher. I have had the opportunity to travel with Derek to many of our locations and help set up business relations with local companies, see historic landmarks and sites pertaining to philosophical history, and to gain personal hands-on experience as a traveler.

It is a unique adventure to travel to teach, and I hope to continue doing so for as long as I am able. It is an experience I will cherish for my entire life, and through World Class Programs, I have the privilege of sharing the experience with younger students.

If I could go on any program that World Class Programs offers, hands down, I would go on the Florence Program. The trip to Italy is a personal favorite of mine because, well, its Italy!

My focus as a philosopher is ancient Greek philosophy and stoicism, both preserved by the Romans. Italy is full of philosophical and historical artifacts. It is like a dream come true!

Not only do I find it personally fascinating, but I find it is very helpful to teach students by doing, rather than by saying. Instead of talking about how philosophy was discussed as Roman Forum, I could teach philosophy IN a Roman Forum. That to me sets the Florence program apart from the others, and what makes it my program of choice.

As not only a philosopher, but also as a communications major, I believe that having a healthy teacher-student relationship is crucial for running a successful study abroad company. A student learns best when he or she feels comfortable, safe, and accepted, all of which World Class Programs strives to do in every facet.

From beginning to end, it is our goal to help foster the students learning by getting to know them, relating with them, and guiding them to academic excellence while also giving them the freedom they so desperately crave. It is, I would say, the biggest factor in a successful travel company.