FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, April 3, 2018<\/p>\n
STEPHENVILLE, Texas—Ah, spring break.<\/p>\n
Hit the water, meet people.<\/p>\n
Take time out from studying. Especially that.<\/p>\n
A group of Tarleton State University students accomplished all of the above last month aboard a Carnival cruise ship while benefiting from learning experiences with a social media slant.<\/p>\n
Most were first-generation college students and some lacked a passport (their birth certificate worked just as well). Sea travel reduces a typical barrier for students interested in study abroad.<\/p>\n
Departing from Long Beach, Calif., the students met for structured lessons at breakfast, lunch and dinner to learn about social media as it relates to the travel and tourism industry.<\/p>\n
Carnival’s national public relations office rolled out the red carpet for the Tarleton Texans, giving them a private tour of the vessel—with security escort—and providing time with the ship’s hotel director for questions and answers.<\/p>\n
Each morning began with communication theory. The afternoon featured conversations on “becoming a millennial professional” and lessons exploring dining etiquette and dress. The evenings delved into social media analytics and tourism.<\/p>\n
At one session resembling a press conference, the students asked the ship’s staff about their adventures and how various functions operate together. Later the students received a behind-the-scenes look at food storage and preparation, the massive kitchen, laundry facilities and the crew quarters.<\/p>\n
It all made a lasting impression.<\/p>\n
“This cruise was a great opportunity for me to experience a new country and cultural differences in both Catalina and Ensenada,” marketing senior Marilla Smith said.<\/p>\n
It reminded Criessia Smith, a communication studies graduate student, to “always come prepared and budget accordingly.” Added David Gillespie, another communication studies grad student: “Be open-minded about everything and get out of your comfort zone.”<\/p>\n
Tarleton’s Texas Social Media Research Institute (@TSMRI) sponsored the reduced-fare spring break cruise, designed to attract students who work while attending school or who are parents.<\/p>\n
TSMRI will emphasize social media and millennial travel throughout April and will celebrate National Travel and Tourism Week with a Thursday Twitter Chat (#TXSocialMedia @TSMRI) 8 p.m. May 8.<\/p>\n
Tarleton, founding member of The Texas A&M University System, provides a student-focused, value-driven educational experience, marked by academic innovation and a dedication to transform today’s scholars into tomorrow’s leaders. Offering degree programs in Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Midlothian and online to more than 13,000 students, Tarleton engages with communities through real-world learning experiences to address societal needs while maintaining its core values of integrity, leadership, tradition, civility, excellence and service.<\/p>\n
#<\/p>\n
Contact: Dr. Jennifer T. Edwards, TSMRI Executive Director Ah, spring break. Hit the water, meet people. Take time out from studying. Especially that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":28581,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","wds_primary_category":423,"footnotes":""},"categories":[423,425],"tags":[430,440,445,461],"class_list":["post-28580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics-research","category-campus-community","tag-academic-affairs","tag-college-of-liberal-fine-arts","tag-division-of-research-innovation-and-economic-development","tag-global-and-study-abroad"],"acf":{"image":null},"author_meta":{"display_name":"keegan","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/author\/keegan-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2021\/11\/image-1316-300x200.jpg","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["Academics & Research<\/a>","Campus & Community<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Academics & Research<\/span>","Campus & Community<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["Academic Affairs<\/a>","College of Liberal & Fine Arts<\/a>","Division of Research, Innovation and Economic Development<\/a>","Global and Study Abroad<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Academic Affairs<\/span>","College of Liberal & Fine Arts<\/span>","Division of Research, Innovation and Economic Development<\/span>","Global and Study Abroad<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":0,"relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 8 years ago","modified":"Updated 2 years ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on April 3, 2018","modified":"Updated on September 23, 2024"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on April 3, 2018 12:00 am","modified":"Updated on September 23, 2024 4:11 pm"},"featured_img_caption":"Group of people smiling by a waterfront.","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28580"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28580\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
254-307-1375
jtedwards@tarleton.edu<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"