Craig Howat

Craig Howat is a hotel, restaurant and tourism teacher at the Satellite Center in Luling, Louisiana, just outside of New Orleans. Howat has been teaching for more than 25 years, giving his students a hands-on experience by traveling to hotels, restaurants, performing arts centers, stadiums and beyond—plus a cultural exchange visit to Quebec, Canada in 2023, which his students will never forget.

Why are you passionate about student travel?

I am passionate about student travel for several reasons, many of them tangible and several are intangible. 

First and foremost, student travel is the absolute best opportunity for our students to develop life skills while bringing our classroom curriculum to life. A traveler needs to be resourceful and solve problems. Oftentimes, we need to think out of the box and be open minded. We may need to interact with people of different ethnic backgrounds or navigate to destinations we are unfamiliar with. Communicating with someone who does not speak your native language is difficult but it demands our students to challenge themselves. There is nothing more challenging or anxious for our students than having to get a bite to eat or use the restroom when you throw a foreign language and unfamiliar land into the mix. These challenges and anxieties must be overcome in order to accomplish the most basic of tasks. 

Next. student travel allows them to gain a deeper understanding of the world around them. The students visit destinations where history happened. They practice their foreign language. They experience the culture, see the customs and way of life of the people they are visiting and taste the food. Doing this changes you, it makes you grow and mature quickly. It stays with you. Student travel broadens their horizons making them empathetic and understanding.

This is why first and foremost I am passionate about student travel.

I am also passionate about student travel for reasons that are not as tangible as mentioned above. Student travel allows students to challenge the dialogue with their inner voice. As high schoolers, my students are discovering themselves and their place in the world / community. Travel has allowed them to overcome the challenges with a negative inner dialogue. They have developed confidence and strength. They become more positive of the world around them rather than the doom and gloom visible every time they scroll social media or turn on the television to watch the news. Their world gets a little smaller and more manageable. Ultimately, they become self believers instead of self doubters and this is the lasting impact of travel!

What is a major highlight from any of your student travel experiences?

One major highlight from a recent student travel experience was during an international trip to Quebec City, Canada. Since we are from the deep south (a few minutes outside of New Orleans, Louisiana) our students have never seen or experienced snow. Once we arrived in Canada, we took them to Parc des Chutes-de-la-Chaudière. Their excitement was uncontainable. The students played and tumbled in the snow. They made snow angels and had a snowball fight. They facetimed their family and friends and posted on social media all about this new experience. It was raw joy and enthusiasm for something so simple and pure. I stood and took it in for a few minutes before pelting them with snowballs and wrestling with them. I will always remember this experience with them!

What is the greatest lesson you or your students have learned from your trips?

I think one of the greatest lessons that we learn from our trips is the value of empathy. Travel allows you to experience how other people live in the world. I think it is easy for a high schooler to say they don’t like the school lunch but when they come face to face with someone that is less fortunate than them, it helps them appreciate what they have. It is hard for high school students who live in a warm house, eat three square meals a day and may have their own car to drive to school to truly understand how hard it is for others to survive. We are fortunate. This is a very humbling lesson but one of the most valuable lessons my students learn. 

How do you try to tie your travel experiences back into the classroom?

Many of us may be familiar with the Vieux Carre, New Orleans, Louisiana. One of my favorite projects that we do in my classroom is to learn about the history and culture of the people of New Orleans. Next we create walking tours to deliver to younger students in our district. Obviously the French Quarter is one of the few cities in The United States that has protected their culture and heritage. When you walk through the French Quarter it is like walking through many European cities. You lose all sense of time and space and for many of my students this is their first time experiencing that feeling. Our curriculum and my stories come alive as we walk. After our “on site” research, they work to create their own walking tours for their groups of students. My students are terrified when they think about having to give a four hour walking tour in a neighborhood that they have only visited once. They always rise to the occasion and do a great job! It always brings me great joy when one of my alumni sends me a text or tags me on social media from their travels around the world or right there in the French Quarter.

From the Nominator:

What qualities make this person, both as an educator and travel leader, deserving of this award?

Mr. Howat is a very inspiring person. He is very friendly and always willing to make someone smile. He “always wants someone to leave with something they didn’t come with.” He always incorporates different traveling experiences for students such as (hotel tours, Vieux Carre, Destrehan Plantation, etc.) He always goes out his way to tie together dual enrollment curriculum from Delgado with different trips, field experiences and travel. This also us to leave the classroom to learn lifelong learning and memories that you built that will be with you the rest of your life. He also shows appreciation to other cultures cultural (Duolingo for French, trying various foods, Travel Tuesdays, etc…) For example before we went on our trip to Canara, Mr. Howat himself along with the class challenged ourselves for15 minutes of French on Duolingo just so that we could speak French and teach English in Canada. We were able to stay with some of Mr. Howat’s friends and family out there. The experience was amazing! The food, the culture, their home, etc. I wouldn’t mind taking another trip out there!