Goodrichers Head to Elmwood, NE | Goodrich Scholarship Program

College of Public Affairs and Community Service Goodrich Scholarship Program

Rural Excursions is place-based a Goodrich-sponsored travel opportunity where students from the Goodrich Scholarship Program connect with Nebraska communities, learning about the state.

On these excursions, students read works associated with rural Nebraska, which they then discuss on site while serving the local community. Students serve in a variety of capacities, doing everything from maintaining historic sites to assisting elderly residents.

The programs help students appreciate and promote the uniqueness of Great Plains culture and ecology via experiential learning.

Read more about the different Rural Excursions below.

Goodrich Scholars Visit Beatrice, NE

In summer 2024, 12 Goodrich Scholars and three members of Goodrich’s faculty/staff visited Beatrice, NE in order to serve the local community while learning about the town’s cultural history. The primary focus was on Weldon Kees, the celebrated poet and painter who was originally from Beatrice and disappeared mysteriously in 1955, but students also learned about homesteading at nearby Homestead Historical Park.

Some students assisted with Main Street Beatrice’s annual fundraiser while the others built a puppet theater in Weldon Kees’s honor at the Gage County Historical Museum. The weekend was a raucous good time that included some great meals, scary movies, and some roller skating at a local rink.