Interview with Lynn Layman
Drama teacher
Midland, Texas
Of her 16 years as junior high teacher, group leader Lynn Layman has been leading Smithsonian Student Travel tours for the past 10. However, she actually organized her first tour as a devoted theater parent. Determined to offer her son and daughter’s theater group a compelling and inspiring senior trip, Lynn called on Smithsonian Student Travel to help her plan her first trip to New York City. During that first journey, Lynn quickly realized how beneficial the tours would be for her sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students. Lynn and her students recently returned from their latest tour, “New York City: Broadway and the Arts,” and are already planning next year’s return to the Big Apple!
Have you always taught junior high?
Yes. When I first began taking tours, I was teaching World History to sixth graders. For the last six years, I've been able to teach my dream job: speech, drama and journalism.
What first prompted you to travel with your students?
Both of my children were involved in high school theater, and I was newly the president of the booster club. Honestly, I was trying to find a better theater senior trip than had been offered the previous year: a 55-mph school bus chugging off to Austin, Texas, to see a community theater performance of Oklahoma. Ugh. The students had been less than enthused, so I was determined to find a more appealing opportunity!
What initially made you choose Smithsonian Student Travel?
A friend from Wisconsin had been a group leader for a couple of years and recommended Smithsonian Student Travel. It only took one phone call, and I signed up immediately.
How do you select/recruit students who travel with you?
I open the trip up to the entire school, not just my students. Since we have trip meetings every other month, by the time we leave on the trip, everyone knows each other pretty well.
Since the trip is such a good deal financially, and since we visit places that appeal to all age levels, many family members travel with us, too. Without it ever being planned, for every two students, we have one adult traveling. Families have used this for their family vacations. Students have been accompanied by older siblings, their grandmothers or cousins from another city.
Do you fundraise for your trips?
I don't coordinate fundraisers for our trip, but only because I am always fundraising for our theater department and can't afford for the two purposes to get confused. However, Smithsonian Student Travel has a great pamphlet about fundraising, and I make copies for the students to use. Sometimes a parent will coordinate a fundraiser for the kids, but mostly they fundraise on their own.
I've always been amazed at what a motivated student can do. In an effort to teach their children financial responsibility, more than a few parents have required their students to raise a portion of the money, even as much as half. We've never had a student back out because the student wasn't willing to do what it took. Yard work, washing windows or cleaning up a beauty salon after hours, these kids are learning fiscal responsibility and its rewards at a young age.
How do you prepare your group for travel?
We have group meetings every other month, beginning in August. All meetings are informational and available to those who wish to attend, but the last meeting in May is mandatory. The May meeting requires that every traveler and a parent be present to receive all of the vital travel, hotel and communication information. Over the years, I've also created pamphlets to mail to families to keep them excited and in the loop.
What percentage of your students are traveling for the first time when they travel with you?
Every year without fail, we have at least two travelers who have not only never flown, but have never been out of the state of Texas. I truly admire their parents for having the courage and insight to know how important travel can be and to know that seeing, touching and hearing all that we do will expand their horizons in a way a classroom can't.
How have these travel experiences affected your students in the short-term and the long-term?
I have firsthand experience with this! Both of my children were with me the first time we traveled with EF. We flew to New York City in 2000, and our first evening was spent on the observation deck of the Empire State Building. I have a blurry picture of my son, a sophomore, standing on the deck, eyes fixated on New York as the sun set and the city lights came on. I've often said that was the moment I lost my son to New York. Two years later, his only college of choice was New York University.
What have been some of your most memorable on-tour moments?
Since we began the tours in 2000 and have included New York in every tour, it has been very meaningful to go to the World Trade Center site. Our first pictures included the towers and every year since then, the site has undergone a vastly different look as the city mourns, cleans and rebuilds.
We also survived an honest-to-goodness tornado at Mount Vernon. Not many people can say they experienced that! Plus, being from Midland, Texas, we enjoyed a special tour of the White House the four times we were in Washington while George W. Bush was in office. Even though the visits were coordinated through our congressman, Smithsonian Student Travel was wonderful about accommodating this extra activity in our schedule.
Tell us about your latest tour experience, “New York: Broadway and the Arts.”
Although I usually have enough travelers for a private tour, this year, there were only 22 of us, so we were paired with two other groups from Colorado and Wyoming. They were the best people on Earth! Our kids got along great. On our first morning in New York, we had our acting lesson, which was fantastic. After all the drama exercises—of standing hip to hip and shoulder to shoulder—we all knew each other so well. It was one of the best ways to start the tour.
Plus, throughout the tour, we always happened to be at the right place at the right time. While we were visiting Lincoln Center, we saw the New York Philharmonic rehearse. We had to be quiet as mice on the balcony, but we were witnesses to something incredible.
Why do you continue to travel with Smithsonian Student Travel?
One of the reasons why I keep coming back year after year is that the tour consultants are incredible. They make me feel involved and protected, and they remind me of why I do this every year. I feel grateful and blessed with the people I have come across at Smithsonian Student Travel. Every single one is informed, caring, energetic and becomes not just a friend but a family member.
Also, the stay-behind program and Global Rewards are two of the biggest perks you can offer anyone. Smithsonian Student Travel has truly taken me to some very nice places!