2024 was the year of the blockbuster—among our many programs, we operated three smashing trips that combined, involved nearly 800 guests. In April, over four hundred travelers witnessed the total solar eclipse in the Texas Hill Country. In June, after two years of meticulous planning, nearly 200 guests attended the official ceremonies commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day, seated alongside heads of state from Allied nations. In November, the Daughters of the American Revolution reaffirmed longstanding and important ties to France in advance of the United States’ semi quincentennial on a dazzling trip to Paris that included a private ceremony at the tomb of the Marquis de Lafayette.
Other notable trips this year included:
- The Post and Courier, the newspaper of record in South Carolina, kicked off its travel program in Cuba, where Editor-in-Chief Autumn Phillips added a daily writing prompt to the schedule, underscoring her belief that good travel and good writing are the same thing: being awake and taking everything in.
- Meredith Abbott, Culinary Director at famed kitchenware purveyor Sur La Table kicked off Sur La Table Culinary Journeys with a trip to the South of France.
- ATA supported the Albert H. Small Normandy Institute’s important mission to educate high school students about D-Day’s significance through its innovative programming that culminated with a trip to Normandy.
News in Study Abroad
- We continued to grow! In 2024 our total enrollment surpassed our 2019 enrollment. We also launched a 3-year growth plan and reorganized our teams to prepare for more growth. Program quality will remain our #1 priority as we fill our standard programs, grow our custom programs, and develop new offerings.
- In October we hosted 22 visitors from 20 institutions in our center in Taiwan, with several also traveling on to our sites in Beijing and Shanghai. In each location, the group visited classes, met with local partners and students, and left with a clear understanding of our programs’ unique strengths. The US State Department recently downgraded its Travel Warning for China to Level 2, clearing the way for more US institutions to support China study abroad. CET’s center in Harbin, operating since 1988, will reopen in 2025.
- Every year, we undertake one formal program review, and this year our attention turned to CET Beijing. The University of Minnesota Learning Abroad Center (LAC), our School of Record partner, sent three reviewers to Beijing to take a hard look at our academic and student life offerings. Their recent report was glowing. They wrote: “The CET Beijing program is an exemplary Chinese language immersion program… This high-level of instruction is possible as CET Beijing has one of the best teacher training systems, if not the best, in the field of teaching Chinese as a foreign language.”
- Finally, we continue to prepare for the launch of our exciting new Barcelona program, which will begin in August 2025. We are grateful to our teams in Washington, Barcelona, and our Director in Florence for all they’ve already done to ensure a successful start.
New Relationships
On the Sustainability Front
We increased the size of our decarbonization fund this year by nearly 25%. Our donation of $80,000 will support three projects managed by Cool Effect, a company that supports carbon emissions reductions. The projects are: Gas Buster (destruction of Ozone Depleting Substances sourced in Chile), Beaut Down Under (a reforestation program in Australia), and Bearadise (forest protection in Alaska).
On the JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion) Front
ATA staff contributed over 240 volunteer hours to support The Fund for Education Abroad, a non-profit founded by ATA and dedicated to diversifying the field of study abroad. In addition, we sent more of our staff to the Global Inclusion Conference in Washington, DC than any other similar institution. Our team presented and shared ideas about supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion in study abroad.
Looking Forward
At our staff holiday party a few weeks ago, President Kate Simpson told our staff, “As we embark on another potentially volatile four years in our national and global environment, I want you to remember that all of the work you put into the world to impart cross-cultural knowledge and understanding cannot be undone. What you do matters.”
We are so grateful to work with and among colleagues who wholeheartedly share our core belief that travel enriches lives in unimaginable ways. Sending you our best wishes for a year filled with new adventures in a peaceful world.
