While many college students fly south to the likes of Florida or Mexico for spring break, a class of Kent State University students are heading east to Italy and Greece for the 2026 Winter Paralympics 鈥� but they're not competing.
Students enrolled in Kent State's 鈥淏usiness in the Olympics鈥� course will see how the Paralympics operate while learning about the history of the games.
Professors Mark Lyberger and Jennifer Ray-Tomasek taught their students about the bidding process countries must go through to host the Olympic Games, the makeup of the International Olympic Committee and the event's revenue models.
Though the professors hope the hands-on experience will emphasize the course material, Lyberger and Ray-Tomasek said they also hope the students will learn more personal skills.
鈥淲e have an opportunity when we travel like this to not only learn all these new and important things and pieces of information and be part of something, but it鈥檚 also to just hone our personal skills to some degree 鈥� the ability to be resilient and problem-solve in a country where you don鈥檛 speak the language," Ray-Tomasek said.
While in Italy, students will watch the U.S. Paralympic hockey team take on Germany, visit various sports facilities and tour the Museo del Calcio, a museum dedicated to the Italian national soccer team.
After seeing the modern Paralympics in action, the class will travel to Greece to study the history of the Olympics.
鈥淲e鈥檒l look at the new Olympiad and the old Olympiad over in Greece, and they鈥檒l get exposed to both of those environments, as well as a few individuals to help clarify some of the historical content, as well as current practices that they are engaged in over there,鈥� Lyberger said.
Lyberger and Ray-Tomasek said the lessons from the classroom will connect to the various trips and conversations that will take place throughout the trip.
鈥淲e really want to try to allow and afford the students more of an experiential type of experience where they can engage and see collectively the different elements that we鈥檙e discussing in the classroom,鈥� Lyberger said.
The class is comprised of students of different majors, spanning from art and theater, to students interested in accessibility and disability, to sports administration and event management.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been really fun to get to know the group of students and learn about who they are and where they鈥檙e coming from and what made them interested in joining the class and joining the trip,鈥� Ray-Tomasek said.
Betsy Ann Banks, a senior professional studies major, said the trip is a perfect way to end her senior year. Banks previously attended Kent State in the '90s but never completed her bachelor's degree. She returned 35 years later to do so.
鈥淭o end my bachelor鈥檚 degree with an opportunity to study abroad is a dream come true,鈥� Banks said, adding that learning about the business aspect of the Olympics reminded her of her experience as a business owner. She also said she鈥檚 excited to see the ins and outs of the Paralympics up close.
鈥淭o go to Greece and see the original stadium, and then to see the new stadium and knowing all the differences and what that means when it comes to putting an Olympics together, I just think that鈥檚 cool," Banks said.
The class will spend 10 days abroad, leaving March 5 and returning on March 15. Upon returning to the U.S., the students will present summaries on what they learned.
鈥淲e鈥檙e hoping that this is the start of an initiative that we can coordinate and implement with the Summer Games in the future, and the Winter Games, and keep this momentum rolling,鈥� Lyberger said.
In 2024, Baldwin Wallace University sent three students and two faculty members to Paris for the Summer Olympics, according to Charles Campisi, a professor at Baldwin Wallace University.
The Milano Cortina Winter Paralympic Games run March 6-15.
