Taking it out of the Classroom

Cody Lewis

By Cody Lewis

When I found out that I would possibly be traveling to Tunisia this summer, I was both excited and extremely humbled. When I found out it was actually happening, I could not stop smiling for hours. It is an honor to be asked to travel with the Global Center for Journalism and Democracy.

I have never traveled outside of the United States before, and I am excited to say that I will be landing on another continent. After doing some research on Tunisia, I know that it was the starting point for the Arab Spring. I also know that citizens are trying to improve the country’s image in order to attract more tourism. An entire country dedicated to Public Relations!

I am a Public Relations major and Political Science minor and the fact that we will be working on communications plans for political parties is almost too perfect. It gives me an opportunity to apply what I’ve been learning in college in the real world—on an international level.

I also look forward to working with Kelli Arena. I hope to learn a lot from someone with such an impressive track record.

This is an opportunity that I know most students will never get so I will be sure to make the absolute best of it and take as much away from it as I possibly can. I’m on my way…

Keep an eye out for more posts from me from Tunisia- I'll be blogging live and posting on social media about the experience, May 26-30, 2014.


Global Center for Journalism and Democracy
Dan Rather Communications Building, Room 201, Huntsville, TX 77340