From booking hotels and transportation to selecting must-see sites, planning a dream vacation takes work. While digital platforms like Tripadvisor and Expedia can help prospective travelers make choices and streamline logistics, not everything is as it appears online.
Enter the WashU Travel Program sponsored by the Alumni Association. Each year, the program partners with trusted travel companies to curate a dynamic slate of domestic and international trips for university alumni, parents and friends.
Participants in these small-group tours are immersed in history and culture through lectures, including from local guides and WashU academics, and bespoke activities. “Education is core to our mission,” says David Webb, travel program director. “There is something special about building memories with other WashU alumni and fans who share a love of learning and curiosity about the world.”
Read on for highlights from several WashU globetrotters:
Howard Demsky, BS ’88, MBA ’88, and Jamie Demsky
From: Orlando, Florida
Trip: Norwegian Fjords and Midnight Sun
No. of WashU trips taken: 1
Soaking up the midnight sun in Norway had long been on Jamie Demsky’s bucket list. However, she and her husband, Howard, struggled to find a tour that would take them through the countryside and along the coasts. With its diverse mix of air, rail and sea transit, the travel program’s fjord-focused excursion through the Norwegian cities of Oslo, Bergen and Tromsø offered just that. “The itinerary was unlike any others we encountered,” Jamie says of the 11-day trip that kicked off in June.
For the Demskys, the journey from Oslo to Bergen was a highlight. “Taking in the scenery by train was breathtaking,” Howard says. The pair especially enjoyed the railway leg leading to their cruise down Sognefjord, the country’s longest fjord. Once in Tromsø, which sits north of the Arctic Circle, they were finally able to witness Norway’s white nights. “There was a real sense of vitality and energy to our time there,” Jamie says.
Though the Demskys are no strangers to tours, they had never traveled with WashU before. The couple selected this destination in concert with longtime friends and fellow Floridians Dan Leisle, BS ’88, MBA ’88, and his wife, Leigh. “It was nice going with somebody I know from WashU,” says Howard, who met Dan 40 years ago while both pursued degrees in engineering and business. The Demskys also found common ground with other members of the group. “There’s an instant connection and camaraderie among WashU alumni,” he says. “This trip just felt different.”
Richard Galen, AB ’71
From: Potomac, Maryland
Trip: Scandinavia and the Baltic Sea
No. of WashU trips taken: 2
Richard Galen is a seasoned traveler who delights in exploring the world both alone and with his wife, Leslie Galen, AB ’72. In July, he decided to fly — or rather cruise — solo down the Baltic Sea with WashU. The trip, which covered six Scandinavian and Baltic countries in nine days, offered him the chance to add a few new stamps to his already-dog-eared passport.
“Many of the places we visited I wouldn’t have picked on my own,” Galen says. He found himself especially charmed by the historic beauty of capital cities Riga, Latvia and Tallinn, Estonia. Part of what made these stops so memorable were the local guides, including one in Riga whose command of English and encyclopedic knowledge of architectural history left a lasting impression.
For a solo traveler like Galen, the tour struck the right balance of independence and community. He appreciated having unscheduled time to venture out on his own. “But it also was nice to come back to the group and eat dinner together each night,” he says.
Galen’s adventure marks his second time participating in a WashU-sponsored trip. He and his wife traveled to Cuba with the university in 2018, and the couple have already signed up to sail from Antwerp to Amsterdam next spring. Galen returns to the program again and again because he trusts his alma mater to provide a first-rate experience. “I can count on WashU’s due diligence when selecting travel companies, and I know I’ll get a good value for my money,” he says. “It’s a very well-run operation.”
David Fike, professor of earth, environmental, and planetary sciences
From: St. Louis
Next trip: Tahiti and French Polynesia
No. of WashU trips taken: 2
In February, David Fike, professor and chair of earth, environmental, and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences, will set sail to Tahiti and the French Polynesian islands with the travel program. The 10-day voyage will be Fike’s third outing as a faculty lecturer, where he can apply his academic expertise to real-world contexts.
As a geoscientist, Fike is interested in environmental shifts and their relationship to past and present-day climate change. In his lab, he and his team have studied the impact of climate change on sea level and marine life. His upcoming trip — his first to this part of the tropics — will allow him to share those findings with alumni and conduct additional field research.
Not every travel program destination features a WashU professor. “The program is very intentional about pairing faculty with location,” Fike says. In 2016, he watched glaciers splinter apart from a small Zodiac inflatable boat in Alaska. And in 2023, he weathered the rocky waters of the Drake Passage en route to Antarctica. “Both trips provided unique opportunities to visit areas of the world that are difficult to reach but also emblematic of climate change,” he says.
Fike takes pleasure in his interactions with alumni travelers, whom he describes as deeply curious, and he has kept in touch with several participants over the years. Although he occupies the role of expert, Fike is an eager tourist as well. “Personally, I get a lot out of these trips,” he says. “I get to satisfy the geoscientist in me and learn more about the history and culture of different places.”
David Warfield, BSBA ’81, JD ’84, and Anne Warfield
From: St. Louis
Trip: Rhine and Moselle Rivers: Amsterdam to Basel
No. of WashU trips taken: 2
Surprise is one of the great pleasures of traveling. But hearing a German band cover the Flintstones theme song was not on David and Anne Warfield’s travel bingo card. The Warfields encountered that animated earworm in Cochem, Germany, where they spent the fifth day of their cruise from Amsterdam to Basel.
Cochem, which sits along the Moselle River, was full of unexpected delights. The Saturday port call coincided with the city’s weekly outdoor festival, when residents from surrounding communities descend for libations and live music. “It was a blast,” David says. “They even had vending machines for beer and wine, which is an invention I think we should adopt here.”
Later, the couple decided to grab dinner off the ship and asked a guide for restaurant recommendations. Expecting sausage and sauerkraut, they instead dined on delicious pizzas in a local Italian eatery.
While Cochem charmed both Warfields, Anne’s favorite stop was Heidelberg, Germany. She first visited the city as a 17-year-old high school student enrolled in a summer exchange program. “I was curious to see if I would enjoy it today as much as when I was a teenager,” she says. “And I really did.”
An avid photographer, Anne also took pleasure in capturing the breathtaking scenery and architecture — especially the castles — at every juncture. She still recalls one of the guides telling them that there are more castles in Germany than there are McDonald’s restaurants in the United States.
Now two-time WashU travelers, the Warfields value the service and convenience offered by the program. “I definitely see us participating in another trip,” David says. “After I retire, we will have more free time to be adventuresome.”
Melissa Holtmeyer Terlaje, BS ’06, MS ’07, PhD ’12,
and Augusto Terlaje III, BS ’05, MS ’06, PhD ’10
From: Columbia, Maryland
Trip: Normandy and the 80th Anniversary of D-Day
No. of WashU trips taken: 1
“What do you think about surprising my dad with a big trip for Christmas?” That was the question Melissa Terlaje posed to her her husband, Augusto “Gus” Terlaje III, last December while scrolling through Instagram. There, she stumbled across a WashU Alumni post promoting a trip to Normandy that would commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Terlaje’s father, Bill Holtmeyer, is a lifelong World War II history buff, and he was about to hit a milestone of his own: his 70th birthday. For Terlaje, the tour offered an opportunity to give her father, who had never been outside of the United States, an experience of a lifetime. For everyone, the answer was “yes!”
In September 2024, Melissa, Gus and her father embarked upon a 9-day excursion through northern France. The trio was most excited to soak up the history and beauty of Normandy’s Omaha and Utah beaches. Learning more about World War II-era military technologies was also a draw for Holtmeyer and the couple, who are both engineers. Melissa, however, was surprised by how much she appreciated France’s art, architecture and culture, especially the picturesque port city of Honfleur and the famed Bayeux Tapestry in Deauville.
The Terlajes, parents to toddler twins, have demanding full-time careers in a university-affiliated research center. “WashU’s program made it possible for us to travel at this point in our lives because everything, including the itinerary and logistics, was taken care of,” Gus says. “We never would have been able to plan a trip like this,” Melissa adds. “We would not have known the possibilities.”
It may be a while before they have the bandwidth to travel internationally again. Nevertheless, Melissa is already dreaming about their future adventures. “Perhaps we can encourage a few WashU friends to join us next time!”
