There’s No Mountain High Enough, No Valley Low Enough for HSU Honors Program Students

HSU honors’ students embarked on Camino De Santiago (meaning the road/walk to Santiago), shortly after spring semester finals. The group walked approximately a total of 190 miles.  

Camino De Santiago was originally a pilgrimage during the Middle Ages where up to two million people a year came to worship at the supposed burial place of Saint James.

Braxton Gately, senior economics major from Boerne, Texas, said, “I learned how important it is to take time off once in a while. I didn’t have to worry about anything. I just had to put my pack on and walk, and that sort of simplicity is very refreshing.”

The walk began in Leon, Spain and ended in Santiago. The group covered all types of terrain, from mountains to flat plains, and met a variety of different people who were also traveling Camino De Santiago.

Zac Christian, junior English major from Comanche, said, “The trip was intense physically and mentally, but it was phenomenal. There were so many people out there from different nations and cultures, all thrown together on this ancient road. The ability to go out into the world and see places like that is a wonderful thing for HSU to offer.”

Every night the honors students stopped in villages or towns and stayed in Albergues, similar to hotels, but primarily for pilgrims walking the Camino De Santiago. The adventure offered the chance for students not only to experience new things, but get to know different people as well.

Reagan Dyer, junior theater major on an acting track from Evant, Texas, said, “You can be eating dinner with people you met on the trail, the only thing in common being language, and not even know their names.  But nobody cares because you’re not just a name, you’re a person and a pilgrim. I made so many friends along the way, and I only know the names of a handful. Experiences like that make me love the diversity of the world. “

The honors program takes a trip every year, and trips alternate between foreign and domestic locations. For more information see https://www.hsutx.edu/academics/honors/.