Acceleration: Your Journey into Adaptability, Resilience, and Worldly Confidence

“I felt like my daughter grew by leaps and bounds on her Acceleration Break.  She gained so much confidence planning her adventure and doing it with new friends. She came home utterly changed. She believes in herself like never before and is obsessive now about planning her next journey!” -UNC Asheville Parent of Catalyst 2025 Participant

After thirteen years of taking students abroad on The The Catalyst, the faculty and staff run the program like a well-oiled machine. Except for Acceleration, the week in the middle of The Catalyst when students travel together wherever they want to go in Europe.

"I field questions on Acceleration from parents every day, mostly because parents worry that their kid can't plan and do a trip without having their hand held. What our data show is clear. Students flourish during Acceleration precisely because we don't plan this week and they do. They own the mistakes they make and the relish the confidence they gain as they hop trains and check-in hostels and choose the museums they want to see. Nobody confuses the person riding shotgun with the driver. Students are all drivers on Acceleration." Dr. Doug Mackaman, Catalyst Director and Professor

With the necessary guidance from coordinators and professors, students use Acceleration as their chance to plan the adventure they want for their own growth. For some this means taking an independent journey. For others it's a joint trip to share with newfound friends, or even a chance to invite a family member to meet them in a European city. Responsible for booking transportation, (flights, trains, or ferries) accommodation (hotels, hostels, or Airbnbs), and any desired activities they choose to partake in while they’re away, students face new challenges as they plan this experience and develop strong grit along the way.

“After having been eased into European travel for two weeks with our professors and staff around us every day, we understood why acceleration was scheduled next. After mastering the Tube and Métro and trains for class, we were all so ready to really try it on our own!" University of Loyola Catalyst Student, '25

The highly anticipated acceleration period offers students space to process the two weeks of cultural, social, and academic immersion. For some, it is chance to recharge their social battery. For others, it is a time of digestion. Whatever necessities acceleration might fulfill, it always becomes a personal milestone in students’ lives.

“I got to the top of the hike in Chamonix, France and I was standing in front of all these snow capped mountains. I stood there alone and realized I had got there all by myself, That was seriously the coolest thing.” Moravian University Catalyst Student, '25

The pace of The Catalyst can be intense in the program's cities. Not so on Acceleration, when taking time to hike or wander in a mountain meadow can be the sum total of one day's goals. Just as there are Acceleration days that end up being all about connections and community:

“Ok so I travelled with my Mom on Acceleration. And one day she and I were on the bus from Monaco back to Nice. I showed her my notebook and sketches and read her most of my notes from London and Paris. Even some of my journal entries. It was really emotional for us to share this. What I had learned and seen and felt became at least partly her story too." UWF Catalyst Student, '24

After making lasting memories, students end Acceleration when they travel to Vienna to meet up again with all the Catalyst students, faculty and staff. (Students reported feeling excited to return to their peers. “It definitely made the heart grow fonder,” one student remarked about their time of separation from the group. “You realize how excited you are to see all the friends you’ve made. It doesn’t feel like you met them only a few weeks before.” )

The Catalyst was an amazing experience for my child. I was initially anxious about Acceleration, but now I understand why this week is so important for the kids and their development. I hope other parents listen when I say this:

Dr. Mack and the Catalyst team are fully committed to making it successful. He addressed all my questions before the trip, which eased my stress as a worried mother. After Acceleration, my child enjoyed the last two weeks abroad with a sense of confidence and security that she could pretty much do anything!”  Howard University Parent, Catalyst '24.