Travel Abroad Program Shifts Perspectives for WHS Students (Updated)

Thanks to Westwood Public Schools for sharing this article with Westwood Minute.

Traveling to foreign countries are “bucket list” items for many people. Thanks to the revival of Westwood High School’s (WHS) Travel Abroad Program, WHS students have the opportunity to gain those experiences again. The school halted the trips during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the program returned this past spring.

WHS juniors Sheila Fortune and Avery Herlihy went on last year’s trip to the Dominican Republic. On this particular trip, students not only toured around the country but also took part in community service. The group of 25 students and four chaperones volunteered at the Mariposa Foundation, whose mission is to invest in young girls to help end the cycle of generational poverty.

“This trip enhanced our awareness and appreciation of the world we live in,” said Fortune. “The emphasis placed on the most important aspects of life – family, friends, helping others, sharing food and the beautiful natural setting – served as a wake-up call for us about what we consider important in our lives.”

A separate group of 38 students and six chaperones visited five European cities – London, Paris, Milan, Florence and Rome – in 10 days. WHS School Counselor Ember Parker led this trip, which she called a “whirlwind.”

“The trip taught students accountability for themselves, flexibility and patience, which gets tested a lot when traveling,” said Parker. “In Rome we walked over 26,000 steps in one day alone. Our students showed up every day with bright eyes to explore places they’d only see on the internet and were excellent ambassadors of our school.”

Photo courtesy of Westwood Public Schools. Student participants of Westwood High School's Travel Abroad Program in Europe are pictured in the summer of 2025.

Fortune and Herlihy were so inspired by their experiences in the Dominican Republic, they started a club at WHS to fundraise for the Mariposa Foundation.

“The bond we formed with so many of these girls is something we will hold with us for the rest of our lives,” said Herlihy. “We hope to assist the Mariposa Foundation in continuing their meaningful cause, and [to] give thanks to the community of girls, which completely shifted our perspectives on the world and how we approach our everyday lives.”

It’s that shift in perspective that WHS and the educators who run these trips hope to ignite in other students.

Photo courtesy of Westwood Public Schools. Students from Westwood High School travelled to the Dominican Republic in the summer of 2025.

“Every couple of nights we did reflections after dinner (in the Dominican Republic),” said WHS School Psychologist Kayla DiBiasie, who led that trip. “We would start conversations and talk about what being rich really means. Some people we met had community and a farm and they felt really rich. So, we asked our kids, ‘What does rich mean to you? What can we bring back home?’ A lot of our kids thought about the privilege of being in school and having a home with consistent food, and that really hit them.”

WHS organizes the trips in conjunction with EF Educational Tours, a Cambridge-based company specializing in trips such as these. WHS has trips to Costa Rica, Greece and Eastern Europe planned for 2026.

Updated 11/17/2025 at 3:24 p.m. The location for a photo that appeared in the body of the initial article text was incorrectly identified when submitted. The caption has now been been corrected as being taken in Europe, not the Dominican Republic. Additionally, a photo of students on the Westwood High School Travel Abroad Program to the Dominican Republic has now newly been added to this article.