Dr. Aixa Ritz, a professor in the International School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, and Dr. Alice Shumate, a professor of Biology in Becton College, escorted a group of graduate and undergraduate hospitality and biology students on a cross discipline educational trip to Costa Rica. 

Students attending the trip were enrolled in two classes which were Sustainable Tourism Development, taught by Dr. Ritz, and Tropical Forest Biology, taught by Dr. Shumate. Part of their coursework included visits to cloud and tropical forests, a meeting with the University of Costa Rica’s tourism students to exchange perceptions of sustainable tourism development and environmental issues and a night visit to the beach to observe turtles nesting.  Faculty and students also shared an evening in a Costa Rican home for a farewell dinner which proved to be one of the highlights of the trip, as well as an extremely productive and valuable cross cultural educational experience.