On Mar. 3, 2024, seven ODU students gathered at the Moore Hotel in downtown Norfolk for a week of research, exploration and fun as part of a communications course offered in the spring semester.
This course, COMM 495: LGBTQ Organizational Culture In The Pacific Northwest, is both an online asynchronous class and an in-person study away trip for ODU students.Students completed a number of pre-trip assignments, with the intention of gathering interviews and artifacts for a completed E-portfolio at the end of the course. A number of pre-departure forms and checklists were also required, including educational materials on how to stay safe navigating an unfamiliar city, as well as medical and emergency contact forms. This trip was a paid expense partially subsidized by the school, but nevertheless costing over $1800.
After fees, work and forms were submitted, as well as an exhaustive set of briefings and meetings, students purchased their own airfare and flew to Seattle. Once there, days were split between planned activities and free time. Most students utilized this freedom to explore their personal interests throughout the city. This was made easier by their access to an “Orca Card”- a prepaid all-in-one public transportation access card that allows students to ride the bus and light rail system through most of the city at their leisure.
Planned activities occupied the majority of students’ time during the trip. Each day featured a different activity centered either around the course subject or the city of Seattle.On one day, for instance, students toured the famous Pike Place market in a pre-planned food tour, tasting frozen yogurt, fish tacos, chowder, smoked salmon and many other delicacies located in and around the market. Another day saw students ascend the Space Needle. On most days, though, ODU students mixed education with pleasure, as students went on to visit the Wing Luke museum of Asian American History, and learned the long and storied history of Seattle’s Asian community.
Other excursions saw students visit the Microsoft campus to learn about that company’s diversity and inclusion initiatives, as well as the offices of Seattle’s King 5 local news station. There, students met with senior employees to discuss coverage of marginalized communities, as well as inclusion within the company.
ODU’s trip to Seattle saw students exploring their own passions alongside group activities that interrogated the relationship between large organizations and the LGBTQ community. Students and faculty alike hailed the trip as a success. It’s unlikely that this will be the last trip of its kind.
