Travel writer, TV personality, activist to visit ECU through Voyages Series

Rick Steves, American travel writer, TV personality and activist, will present “Travel as a Political Act,” at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20 in the Main Campus Student Center ballrooms at East Carolina University. Steves is the third guest in the 2019-2020 Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences Voyages of Discovery Series.

Steves is a respected authority on European travel. He took his first trip to Europe in 1969, visiting piano factories with his father, a piano importer. As an 18-year-old, Steves began traveling on his own, funding his trips by teaching piano lessons. In 1976, he developed his own business, Rick Steves’ Europe, writing more than 50 country, city and regional guidebooks; running a successful European tour program; hosting a weekly public radio program; and encouraging Americans to integrate themselves on a global level by broadening their perspectives through travel.

On Feb. 20, American travel author and TV personality Rick Steves will give the third presentation in the 2019-2020 ECU Voyages of Discovery Series. (Contributed photo)

“What I find especially appealing about Rick Steves is that he thinks of travel not simply as a getaway or escape,” said Dr. Jeffrey Johnson, director of the Voyages of Discovery Series. “Instead, he awakens us to the rewards and responsibilities of traveling as thoughtful and reflective people, as a way to know ourselves better by coming into contact with the wider range of human history and human cultures.”

Over the past 20 years, Steves has hosted more than 100 travel shows for public television. His show, Rick Steves’ Europe, is carried by more than 300 stations, reaching 95% of the United States market. He also hosts a weekly public radio program “Travel with Rick Steves,” in which he interviews guest travel experts.

In 2009, Steves tackled a new genre of travel writing with “Travel as a Political Act,” reflecting on how a life of travel has broadened his own perspectives and how travel can be a significant force for peace and understanding in the world.

When not on the road, Steves also works with advocacy groups focusing on economic and social justice, drug policy reform and ending hunger.

Tickets for the event are $20 for the public, $10 for current and retired ECU faculty and staff, $5 for youth (ages 16 and younger) and free to ECU students with a valid 1 card.

Tickets for the lecture may be purchased online at www.ecu.edu/voyages. ECU students may receive a free ticket to the lecture and should visit the ECU Central Ticket office in the Main Campus Student Center with a valid 1 card to pick up a ticket.

The series is made possible through contributions from Harriot College’s Dean’s Advancement Council, Ricci Law Firm, WITN, Inner Banks Media, university organizations and many other friends and supporters. For additional information about the Voyages series, visit www.ecu.edu/voyages. Individuals requesting accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) should call 252-737-1016 (voice/TTY) at least 48 hours prior to the event.Read how “Rick Steves wants to set you free” in an article by Sam Anderson in The New York Times Magazine. “The travel guru believes the tiniest exposure to other cultures will change Americans’ entire lives.”

Read how “Rick Steves wants to set you free” in an article by Sam Anderson in The New York Times Magazine. “The travel guru believes the tiniest exposure to other cultures will change Americans’ entire lives.”

-by Lacey L. Gray, University Communications