Last year, JumpstartTU expanded its options and took new University of Tulsa students on an incredible trip to Mexico. This year, they went even farther: Germany.
Designed to build relationships and expose incoming undergraduates to academic and campus life, JumpstartTU is a one-week international experience that takes students beyond borders to broaden their horizons. The program started in 2017, and its first destination was Panama. Now, having added Mexico and Germany, first-time students have more travel choices each summer.
“One of our goals at The University of Tulsa is for each undergraduate to seize the opportunity to study abroad. Being able to reap the benefits of international travel before starting classes is an exceptional experience,” said Vice Provost Vivian Wang. “The Center for Global Engagement is looking to Asia in hopes of adding two new destinations to the 2025 list.”
The University of Tulsa has a 25-year exchange partnership with Germany’s University of Siegen. With such a long-established connection, Germany made perfect sense as the newest destination for JumpstartTU.
The itinerary was an exciting mixture of city tours, museum visits, and castle excursions, with meals featuring popular cultural dishes. Highlights of the trip included a visit to the Aktives Museum Suedwestfalen, a former synagogue, followed by a guided walking tour, and a meeting with the mayor of Siegen in a historic meeting room at City Hall. Students toured the Siegerland Museum, where they focused on mining heritage, visited a local school, and explored a multicultural neighborhood with their German peers.
Samuel Moore was one of the new students on this year’s trip. “The JumpstartTU program was an amazing and unforgettable introduction to the TU community,” he said. “The best parts of the trip were the explorations of the art and culture of Germany. These ranged from touring historic districts, art museums, and – my favorite – a German cathedral in Muenster. The cathedral was breathtaking inside and out with stunning architecture and art.”