While he was still a young man, Eric Jordan of Brooklyn, New York went on a journey that changed his life—and would later change many more lives. His ten-month trip to Spain left a profound impact on him, and from that point forward, he has wanted to share his love for traveling with other young people, especially those who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to do so. Today,
Eric is a veteran high school English teacher who’s putting action behind that desire.
“I had this thought: how cool would it be, like, instead of just going back there alone… what if I made a trip out of it? What if I exposed other students to the life out there? As soon as I had that idea, it was like, ‘Oh, I have to do this.’”
It was an exciting prospect to fly a group of teenagers from Brooklyn to Spain, especially since many of his students didn’t often have the luxury to leave their neighborhood, let alone ride in an airplane or travel to a different country. The trip, Eric envisioned, would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn about life in other parts of the world—something that his students would likely never get to experience otherwise.
However, traveling halfway across the world is expensive—and for many of those attending the public high school that Eric teaches in (Frederick Douglass Academy VII),it was unaffordable. To send ten students to Spain would cost approximately $44,000. Nevertheless, Eric was determined to make the trip a reality, but he couldn’t do it alone.
With the help of the school’s staff and administration, parents, and members of the broader Brownsville community, Eric organized fundraising parties, raffles, art auctions, kickball games, community 5K runs, a social media campaign, and more in order to drive donations. To reel in even more funds, Eric set up a GoFundMe, and he was blown away by his community’s support.
“There is really something that comes from the communal aspect of crowdfunding… It becomes a way for thousands of people to find out that there’s a school in Brownsville that’s doing this.And there are people that want to be on board… That, to me, I think is the most inspiring secondary effect of this—the way that it has people in our community show up.”
The fundraiser ended up generating a staggering $42,000 from more than 1,000 donors nationwide, which helped Eric meet and beat his total fundraising goal.
In July of 2017, Eric, two other chaperones, and ten of his students embarked on their long-awaited journey to Spain. On their seven-day adventure, the teens traveled through Barcelona, Zaragoza, and Madrid, experiencing some of the most exciting things that the cities have to offer. The group saw the architecture of Gaudí, met up with art students in Zaragoza, went on historical tours, took a flamenco lesson, attended concerts, and ate traditional cuisine—all while connecting with the locals who lived there.
Based on the glowing feedback that he received from his students, Eric knew that this first international class trip wouldn’t be the last. He quickly set his sights on another ambitious goal: bringing six different groups of scholars to six continents in six years. And up until 2020, Eric made good on his word. He took 15 students to Japan in 2018 and ten students to South Africa in 2019.
“The reason I do it is that travel is a whole different kind of education.” Eric told Patch. “You’re giving someone an education that alters who they are…They walk a little differently, there’s an extra confidence, a little twinkle in the eye… It comes from having something adventurous and unique.”