The Camino as a Living Classroom | Art, Pilgrimage & Joy

In this thought-provoking episode of The Way to Your Why Podcast, host Efrain Mendoza sits down with Roxana Perez Méndez, a professor at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, artist, and lifelong pilgrim who has walked the Camino de Santiago more than ten times.

Roxana shares the deeply personal story of how the Camino entered her life, beginning with a promise made in honor of her great aunt—and how that first walk evolved into a groundbreaking 40-day university study-abroad program blending pilgrimage, art, history, and experiential learning.

Together, Efrain and Roxana explore:

Why universities around the world are embracing the Camino as a space for inquiry

How walking becomes a form of art and pedagogy

What students experience emotionally, spiritually, and professionally after the Camino

The joy, communitas, and transformation pilgrims feel, even through pain and challenge

Why the Camino offers something modern life often lacks: time, rhythm, and meaning

Roxana beautifully defines the Camino in three unforgettable words: “A work of art.”

Whether you’re a future pilgrim, educator, artist, or someone searching for clarity and purpose, this episode offers deep insight into why the Camino continues to change lives, one step at a time.

Chapters
01:31 Welcome to The Way to Your Why
02:21 Meet Roxana Perez Méndez (UNC Chapel Hill)
02:38 How Roxana Discovered the Camino
05:04 Creating a Camino Study Abroad Program
05:54 Why the Program Is 40 Days Long
07:02 Student Experience & Group Size
15:15 Roxana’s Most Meaningful Caminos
18:29 Joy, Pain & Why Pilgrims Are Still Happy
24:15 Stress, Modern Life & the Need to Walk
30:17 Why Roxana Recommends the Camino
32:31 Camino Community Beyond the Trail
35:40 “The Camino Is a Work of Art”
36:30 Final Reflections & Buen Camino

#CaminoDeSantiago #TheWayToYourWhy #CaminoPodcast #Pilgrimage
#BuenCamino

What does the Camino mean to YOU?
Is it healing, clarity, community, art, or something you can’t quite put into words?

Roxana describes the Camino as “a work of art.”
How would you define it?

👇 Share your three words below & don’t forget to subscribe for more Camino stories.