Imagine you are in the middle of an Ecuadorian cloud forest, gasping in awe, as you behold the beautiful greenery, wispy clouds and enchanting animals. Chemistry teacher Dominick Messina is counting down the days until February break, when he, along with chemistry teacher Kristin Leahy, will take 30 Staples students on a 10 day trip to Ecuador and the Galapagos islands. Throughout the trip, the group will engage in various activities such as hiking a cloud forest, exploring lava tunnels and going to Darwin’s research facility.
“I think the one thing that I am most looking forward to might be the white water rafting excursion that we do, but the whole trip is pretty phenomenal,” Messina said.
Messina is an experienced trip leader; he led a trip to Panama, along with science teacher Heather Wirkus, last February break. He is also planning a trip to Northern California in May 2024 with chemistry teacher William Jones. He credits the trips for the bonds they form between the teachers and the students.
“One thing I love about teaching is building a rapport with kids, and going on these trips does that,” Messina said. “I think my relationship with my students is one of my strongest attributes as a teacher, and that bond strengthens when we go away [on trips].”
Other than forming a deeper relationship between teachers and students, Messina thinks that the trip’s experiences have an unparalleled impact on the students.
“I studied abroad in college,” Messina said, “and [looking] back at everything that I learned, the people that I met, the things that I saw, I think that it is valuable to [the] students.”
This trip will be special for Messina, as he will be visiting the place that inspired Darwin’s theory of species and seeing the majestic animals that live there.
“To get to spend three days in the Galapagos, the place that inspires Darwin’s theory of species, it’s pretty much the Mecca for any science teacher,” Messina said. “I can’t wait to see everything, the animals, the giant tortoises, the blue-footed boobies, it’s a pretty special place.”
Besides visiting Darwin’s research facility, Messina’s main highlight of the trip is going to a small town, called Tena, in the Amazon rainforest, and white water rafting.
“We visit an indigenous community, and see what their day-to-day life is like,” Messina said. “Then we go white water rafting. It’s pretty cool.”
