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May Term: A Deep Dive into Discovery

May 15, 2026

Category: May Term

Students in the Bluegrass and Old-Time Music class pose in front of the Floyd Country Store, an off-white building with a green-and-white striped awning. A sign hanging above them reads "Loitering allowed."
Students in Hanna Traynham's class went to the Friday Night Jamboree at the Floyd Country Store.

Over the course of the next few weeks, students at Roanoke College are delving into unique, niche topics through an intensive learning term, or May Term.  

May Term offers an immersive learning experience in which students spend three weeks diving into one subject. Courses include Adventure into Nature, Bluegrass and Old-Time Music, The Grand Tour of Italy and more. 

Some May Term courses are held on campus with field trips and overnight stays, while others take students across the country or around the world. Whether they’re right here on campus or traveling all the way to Japan, these students will spend their time learning, exploring and growing.  

Keep reading for more information about a few of this year’s May Term options. 

Bluegrass and Old-Time Music

During May Term, students in Bluegrass and Old-Time Music, a course taught by Visiting Assistant Professor of Art Hanna Traynham, took a field trip to the Floyd Country Store for the Friday Night Jamboree. Traynham, a native of Floyd, plays banjo. 

Through this course, students received a hands-on introduction to the traditional mountain music culture of southwestern Virginia by attending music and dance events. Additionally, students had the opportunity to hear about the regional music community firsthand from local musicians. Experience in singing, playing instruments or performing was not required, as a foundational tenet of old-time music is that everyone can communicate, regardless of familiarity or skill. 

Two people stand looking off into the distance, slightly obscured by wrought-iron bars. An older man sits to their left and plays the fiddle.
Students sit inside the dimly lit Floyd Country Store facing the stage, watching people perform bluegrass music.
People stand in groups outside the Floyd Country Store in Floyd, Va.
Several vendors set up to sell handcrafted goods in Floyd, Va.
A group of people sit outside the Floyd Country Store to play music. They hold a variety of instruments, including guitars, fiddles, banjos and a stand up bass.

Adventure Into Nature

Students in Adventure into Nature, an intensive learning class taught by Associate Professor of Biology Steve Powers, examine the geology, plants and animals of the central Appalachians through both classroom instruction and field trips. The group takes trips to the central Appalachians to camp in the wilderness, snorkel in rivers and hike strenuous trails. 

The course equips students with a background in natural history and experience with resources commonly used by field naturalists, preparing them for a lifetime of adventuring into nature. 

Someone in the foreground snorkels in shallow water in the river. Other people are scattered around, standing in the shallow water in their wetsuits.
A student holds a clear container filled with water and a rust-colored crawdad in front of her face. Three other students visible in the frame look at the crawdad with her.
A group of people stand in their waders in the river. They are gathered around one student, who is holding a clear container full of water and fish.
A student with dark hair holds up a clear container full of water and fish. He points at the container, and another student leans in to see what's inside.
A student with shoulder-length light hair smiles as they hold a small river bug of sorts. The bug is long, brownish-yellow, has lots of legs and is curled up just slightly.
Sixteen students stand in their waders in the river and pose for a group shot. The trees behind them are very green. One student in the center holds up one of the clear containers.
Steve Powers speaks to a group of students in the river. They are all wearing waders. Steve wears a hoodie under his waders, a hat and sunglasses, and is holding a large rolled-up green net.
Nine men stand in the river and pose for a photo. They are all wearing black wetsuits, and all of them have snorkels and goggles either in their hands, on top of their heads or around their necks.

National Parks: Explore Your America

Chris Lassiter, professor and assistant dean of the School of Health, Science, & Sustainability, has taken a group of students to explore units of the National Park Service (NPS) throughout New Mexico, Texas and Colorado. Through this course, students discuss important events in NPS history and visit sites of biological, cultural and historical significance. 

The class will make stops at major parks, including White Sands National Park, Big Bend National Park, Carlsbad Caverns National Park and Great Sand Dunes National Park. Students will also get to visit a mammoth dig site and Roswell, New Mexico, to learn more about the area’s history with aliens. They are required to keep a journal describing the events of each day, along with their observations and reflections.  

A group of students post with the White Sands National Monument Visitor Center sign. There is a short clay-colored building behind them, rocks and desert-type greenery.
Twelve people pose for a photo on an overlook at a national park. Some are sitting on a rock while others are standing, and they are surrounded by greenery.
A small group of students stands or sits on a tree branch that is low and parallel to the ground. They are surrounded by white sand and the sky is blue and clear.
Students pose in front of a colorful mural titled "Nuestra Herencia" at Chamizal National Memorial Cultural Center. The mural depicts images symbolizing the blending of cultures between the United States and Mexico.
Students sit in front of and stand on the sign for Big Bend National Park in Texas.