Photo courtesy of Margaret Haggerty

Recently, both the Philippines and China trips were canceled due to the COV19 coronavirus.  China was scheduled for mid-April, and the Philippines a few weeks ago in mid-February. When asked about the monetary consequences of the canceled trips, Mrs. Windish, Academy Coordinator, said “Thankfully for China tickets were not purchased yet.  Other than refunding students deposits, [there were really no monetary consequences]. For the Philippines we had purchased [plane] tickets and I had to facilitate a refund from Korean Air. We were successful at getting a refund.”

The Roaring Gazette also talked to Chiara Beaz, a sophomore who was on the delegation to the Philippines.  When asked overall how she felt about the cancelation, she said, “It’s kind of rough. It kind of screwed up my planning of events considering we had a trip canceled the day before we were supposed to leave.  It was kind of disappointing.” We also asked if she would be traveling again. “If anything, I’ll be applying to travel with outside organizations, not with the academy.” She says. “While the break from the school year is great and you get the experience of them coming here, it’s very hard to manage.”  When asked about what advice she would give to students apprehensive about applying due to the cancelations, she said, “Just be careful. Don’t plan things [like school assignments] around your trip.”

As of now, the upcoming delegation that leaves for Spain in March is still on.