UVM GO Cities offers students the opportunity to participate in a four-day travel program, led by UVM faculty and staff leaders who have extensive experience in the city and program theme. Participants and trip leaders will stay overnight in group accommodations as they explore the city with a fresh perspective, form bonds with their peers, and build relationships within the community and broader UVM network.
Each UVM GO Cities program is capped at 20 students, and all UVM GO participants are selected through our lottery process. See the timeline to the right for important dates and deadlines!
The lottery for UVM GO Cities is now open!
UVM GO Cities programs are offered in the following locations:
UVM GO: Chicago (August 6 - August 9)
Economy, Community, Synergy
Led by Dr. Cynthia Reyes, Associate Dean of Academic and Faculty Affairs, and Arby Ghemari, Lecturer, Department of Education
Beginning in the mid-1800s, Chicago became home to many groups that migrated from different regions, and today is host to many immigrant newcomers. This program will highlight the impact of people arriving in a city seeking economic and educational opportunities. Veer off the typical tourist path with Dr. Cynthia Reyes and Arby Ghemari from the College of Education and Social Services, experienced researchers in the fields of immigration, education, and literacy. Students will discover how Chicago resettlement agencies in the past supported immigrant communities’ efforts to thrive and integrate into their new society, and how present-day immigration practices approach the social and multi-layered policy tensions in this fast-growing racially and ethnically diverse city.
Sample Activities: Walking tours of different neighborhoods; embarking on the Mercury Skyline Cruise; visiting The Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, the Erie Settlement House, the Art Institute of Chicago, the National Museum of Mexican Art, the Chicago Cultural Center, Grant Park, and Giordano's Deep-Dish Pizza; sharing a meal with local UVM alumni.
UVM GO: New York City I (August 6 - August 9)
Immigration, Cultures, and Poetry
Led by Professor Tina Escaja, School of World Languages and Cultures, and Professor Sara Solnick, Department of Economics
"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…”
These famous words—from a poem engraved on the Statue of Liberty-- have invited newcomers to our shores for almost 150 years. New York, the gateway to America, is constantly enriched by the cultures, cuisines, and energy of peoples from elsewhere. Our program focuses on immigration, poetry, and the city. We hope that our time together will be filled with lively discussion, appreciation for the creativity surrounding us, and quiet time for reflection and creation. Your leaders are Tina Escaja, University Distinguished Professor of Spanish, and Sara Solnick, Associate Professor of Economics, good friends who both love travel, words, and ideas.
Sample Activities: Visiting Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, the New York Historical Society, Battery Park, the Strand Bookstore and Poetry Houseand the Lower East Side Tenement Museum; attending poetry readings; sampling local cuisine from different ethnic neighborhoods; sharing a meal with local UVM alumni.
UVM GO: New York City II (August 6 - August 9)
Performing Arts in the Heart of the City
Led by Dr. Robert Shimko, Program Head, Program in Theatre and Dance, and Sara Nelson, Lecturer and Production Manager, Program in Theatre and Dance
New York is a city built around a variety of cultures and many internationally significant arts organizations. In this program, students will engage with multiple types of performing art, from live theater to music. By meeting with actors and designers, and visiting arts organizations in New York City, students will explore the arts as a connector between people and cultures. The focus of the trip will be to expose incoming UVM students to a shared experience of art, and to expand their perspectives on the creative world. Dr. Robert Shimko and Sara Nelson of the Program in Theatre and Dance will focus on the arts as an expansive language that functions across cultures to connect people.
Sample Activities: Attending Broadway and Off-Broadway performances; taking walking tours of the High Line and the Broadway Theater District; attending workshops or tours at the Lincoln Center, The Public Theatre, and The Irish Repertory Theatre; visit the Whitney Museum; sharing a meal with UVM Arts Alumni.
UVM GO: San Francisco (August 6 - August 9)
How Public Art Tells the Story of a City
Led by Sarah Richter, PhD, Lecturer, Art and Art History, and jen berger, Lecturer, Studio Art
San Francisco is a city known for its culture, art, and rich history of human rights struggles. Explore how Public Art captures and reflects the city’s vibrant social history. Tour the Mission District, famous for its colorful murals, and learn about the area’s cultural history and historic and current social-political statements. Take a ferry to Oakland and visit with community artists. Visit the Coit Tower for a panoramic view of the city and discover its fresco murals, made during the WPA era, depicting working-class struggles and the economic culture of the time. See how art is displayed and experienced, and what stories are told, at famous institutions like the Museum of Modern Art and the de Young Museum of Fine Arts. This program is led by Professors jen berger and Sarah Richter of the Department of Art and Art History, who specialize in Community Engagement, Public Art, Modern Art, and Museum Studies. This immersive experience will reveal the art, history, and vitality of the Bay Area.
Sample activities: visiting the SFMOMA, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and the de Young Museum; touring Coit Tower, the murals of the Mission District, and Diego Rivera’s works; taking a ferry to Oakland to meet community artists; sharing a meal with local UVM alumni.
UVM GO: Washington, DC
Climate Change and Youth Activism
Led by Dr. Elizabeth Palchak, Office of Sustainability, and Eric Urbaniak, Graduate Program, Natural Resources
Students will explore what it means to be an agent of change as they witness global efforts to address climate change and learn how they can combat climate change in their own lives. Dr. Elizabeth Palchak from UVM’s Office of Sustainability, and Eric Urbaniak from the Sustainable Solutions Lab will accompany students as they enjoy a guided bike tour along the Potomac and around the museums and monuments of the National Mall, meet and learn from changemakers at local and national non-profit agencies working to address climate change, and meet with staffers from Vermont’s congressional delegation.
Sample activities: Taking a guided bike tour along the Potomac; taking guided tours of the US Capitol and other landmarks; visiting community organizations and NGOs; working on a community service project; sharing a meal with local UVM alumni.