Culver Spirit Abroad: Academies Debut Faculty Led Alumni Journey Modeled on GPS Program

 

Culver Academies is bringing its Global Pathways travel experience to alumni, launching a series of faculty‑led trips focused on cultural immersion, shared discovery and lifelong connection.

The planned trips grew out of requests from graduates eager to travel with classmates and looking for deeper, more meaningful travel experiences connected to Culver. The student GPS trips have shown how shared experiences abroad can lead to lasting friendships.

“The idea behind Culver Expeditions is to offer alumni the opportunity to have the same depth of experience that our students have when they travel with Culver,” said Anne Kelley ’94, director of alumni engagement.

Kelley said alumni feedback will play a key role in the destinations of future Culver Expeditions itineraries.

The goal of the GPS trips is to connect students with the local community by learning about the local culture and history. GPS trips started in 1988 as a mission trip to Florida under Spiritual Life, but eventually transitioned to Student Life. The name was changed to Global Pathways Spring Program in 2013. Over the years, students have traveled to 34 countries, 15 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

The program hit its height in 2019, the year before COVID, when 149 students traveled to six countries. There were 152 scheduled to go to six countries in 2020 until COVID. This spring, 78 students traveled to Greece, Italy, New Zealand and Tanzania.

 

Culver Academies history experts and master instructors John Buggeln, Ph.D., and Gary Christlieb, will lead the first alumni trip on a thoughtfully designed journey that brings the school’s World War I legacy to life through an immersive experience that traces the footsteps of Culver graduates across hallowed battlefields in Belgium, France, Germany and Luxembourg. Anyone interested can learn more and sign up here.

“What this trip is really about is the spirit of Culver,” Christlieb said. “In classes like the Great War course, we spend a lot of time discussing what that spirit is, how it developed, what it became, and how it remains one of the institution’s foundations. When you’re here long enough, it becomes part of who you are.”

For Buggeln, the journey is as much about camaraderie as it is history. He sees the trip as a chance to build friendships while gaining a deeper appreciation of Culver’s lasting contributions to world events. This marks the third time he has led a World War I–focused tour with Christlieb, following student trips in 2015 and 2018.

While portions of the itinerary echo the 2018 experience, this tour is tailored for alumni, offering more free time, cultural experiences and culinary connections, including time in France’s Champagne region. Buggeln said what he likes best about trips like this is new discoveries.

“Every time I go, I discover something new,” he said.

The group will arrive in Brussels, Belgium, on March 21, and travel to Ghent, a charming and highly walkable, picturesque medieval city. The following morning, participants explore Gravensteen Castle, a 12th‑century fortress, and St. Bavo’s Cathedral, home to the Ghent Altarpiece by the Van Eyck brothers, one of the most frequently stolen works of art, made popular through the movie “The Monuments Men.”

 

 

The trip then moves into Belgium’s World War I heartland: Ypres and Flanders Fields. At the Memorial Museum Passchendaele, alumni will learn about the 1917 battle that lasted five brutal months and left more than half a million men killed or wounded.

At Essex Farm Cemetery, participants stand where Canadian physician John McCrae wrote “In Flanders Fields” after losing a close friend. The bunker where the poem was written remains preserved. The poem is read every year at Culver’s Veterans Day ceremony.

That evening, alumni will attend the solemn nightly Last Post Ceremony at Menin Gate.

The next day offers a free day in Reims, France, the coronation city of French kings. Alumni can explore Notre Dame de Reims Cathedral, tour renowned Champagne houses or wander the city’s charming streets.

“A great city to be a tourist in. It's not crowded,” Buggeln said. “I look forward to taking a group of people to a classic French cathedral and seeing the awe it inspires.”

That evening, the trip turns interactive with a hands-on cooking class and group dinner.

The trip continues to Belleau Wood, where the Marine Corps earned the nickname “Devil Dogs,” a battle every Marine still studies.

“There's probably no more gritty battle than Belleau Wood,” Buggeln said.

Christlieb said this is where a significant number of Culver alumni fought and died.

 

 

Nearby, is the Aisne‑Marne American Cemetery, which Buggeln calls: “one of the most beautiful, quiet spaces I've ever been to,” Buggeln said.

The day also includes a stop at Château‑Thierry, the namesake of a Culver dorm, where the American forces launched a pivotal counteroffensive, helping turn the war’s tide.

“This was a really important, pivotal battle where the Americans stopped the German offensive,” Buggeln said.

Another memorable stop is the Meuse‑Argonne American Cemetery, the largest American cemetery in Europe. A dorm at Culver (a former barracks) is named for the site. Nearly 14,246 soldiers are buried there, with almost 1,000 names listed on the Walls of the Missing. Participants will take part in a wreath‑laying ceremony honoring Culver alumni.

Christlieb emphasized how deeply that spirit resonates when alumni stand among the graves of Culver graduates.

“You can feel it,” Christlieb said.

The Montfaucon Monument offers sweeping views of terrain once scarred by trenches.

The final days include travel through Trier, Germany, one of the country’s oldest cities, with many beautiful layers of European history, including Roman baths and Romanesque and Baroque architecture, followed by a visit to Luxembourg, one of the most refined cities in Europe and one of the homes of the European Union, before returning to Brussels.

Buggeln hopes participants leave with new and renewed friendships and a deeper connection to Culver’s legacy. Christlieb hopes it rekindles something for participants.

“My hope is that those who go on this trip reconnect with the Culver spirit,” he said.

For more information about Culver Academies, click here.