Twenty-three high school students and seven chaperones piled into cable cars to get to the top of the Alps. The view of natural Switzerland was amazing. But, the students were focused on something much more magnificent — a pile of snow.
Many of the Floridians had never seen snow before. And those who had, never had seen it in June, of all months. It was time for a once-in-a-lifetime snowball fight.
“When I came over there, and they saw me, I thought, ‘Uh oh, better get out of here,’” Strawberry Crest teacher David Katzmayr said.
Clad in shorts, the students made their way back down the mountain and onto the bus after the fight. Their hands were burning.
“They couldn’t believe their hands were cold,” Katzmayr said. “I said, ‘Well, yeah, you’ve been digging around in ice.’”
The stop at the Alps was just one of the locations the students visited for a summer trip headed by Katzmayr. Twenty-one of the students were from Strawberry Crest High School. One was from Plant City High School and another was a recent grad from Durant High School. For 10 days, they toured Germany, Austria, Italy and Switzerland.
“Each kid loved different things,” Katzmayr said.
They visited Nazi concentration camps. They saw the castle Disney modeled its theme park attraction after. And, they ate all the local food they could fit into their stomachs.
The trip was scheduled through Education First Tours. Katzmayr has worked with the company before. This is his second time taking students on a trip to Europe.
“I’ve been fortunate that I’ve traveled all over the world,” Katzmayr said. “I became a teacher to make a difference. Sharing my love of travel is a way to make a difference with the students.”
Katzmayr held a 25-year career as a vice president of marketing for an insurance company. He’s been to 25 countries and all but three states — North Dakota, West Virginia and New Mexico.
When he retired, he found another calling — teaching. He taught for three years at Plant City High School and then moved to Strawberry Crest, where’s he’s been for five years. In that time, he started a ski club after hearing that many of his students hadn’t seen snow. They took the 12-hour drive to Sugar Mountain in North Carolina every year.
“We had a blast,” Katzmayr said. “There was everything in town from restaurants to nice hotels, skiing and tubing down the mountain. I chose that town because there was a lot of activities for high-schoolers.”
Last year, Katzmayr took students on a European trip during Spring Break. Summertime worked out better, though. He’s already planning another trip for next year. This one will take students along the Mediterranean coast through Italy, the French Riveria, Monte Carlo and Barcelona. Katzmayr himself hasn’t been to Barcelona or Nice, France. He’s already had a dozen kids sign up.
“I get to experience it with the kids, their reactions to things, how they interpret things,” Katzmayr said.
Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com.
PICTURE PERFECT
David Katzmayr always notices his students take hundreds of pictures a day on their cellphones during their trip, but they never take them to get them developed.
“Then they lose their phones or break them, and the photos are gone,” Katzmayr said.
So, he required all his students to make customized photo albums of their trip. A lot of the photos are the same group shots. But, he also adds student-specific pictures.
There are usually about 70 pictures in each album.
“Some of them tear up when I give them their album,” Katzmayr said. “I love these kids.”
THE COST
Trips cost the students about $3,000 each. Katzmayr tries to solicit donations from local companies. If your business would like to help students have a trip to remember, contact Katzmayr at David.Katzmayr@sdhc.k12.fl.us.
THE ITINERARY
Frankfurt, Germany
Rothenburg, Germany
Heidelberg, Germany
Munich, Germany
Hainburg, Austria
Venice, Italy
Verona, Italy
Lucerne, Switzerland