Ascending the the Philadelphia Art Museum steps, Bantivoglio Honors College brought forty-eight students to visit on Sept. 22. The event was free of charge, with a hefty wait-list of many others.

Those participating, including senior biomedical engineering student Melissa D’Alia, were eligible to earn about five of the fourteen hours of participation in honors-sponsored events required to remain in the program.

“I really love art museums,” D’Alia said. “Especially this museum. I’ve been here before for an honors trip and I was really excited when I heard that they were doing it again. It’s such a beautiful and well-designed museum.”

Exhibited works included modern, American and European art, spanning multiple centuries. For senior computer science major Caitlin McElwee, a room resembling a Catholic monastery with stone columns and a fountain in the center was a highlight of the trip, though many other works also appealed to her.

“One of the rooms that I’m trying to get to, which is my favorite and I keep going back to, is the Modern Art area,” McElwee said. “[It’s] got a couple of my favorite works and I’m trying to find them again.”

Students were not the only ones to benefit from the honors college expedition.

Clara Popa, an associate professor in the Communications Department and a member of the Honors Review Board, was happy to serve as a chaperone and share in the experience.

“This is awesome,” Popa said. “I’ve been here many times in the past.”

This is just one of many opportunities offered by the Honors Concentration to visit museums throughout the year. Past trips have been to the Museum of Modern Art, the Franklin Institute and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. For such events, students have been able to avoid footing the bill. Included is either pre-made lunches or vouchers to purchase food at the event.

“I think it’s a very wonderful part of the Honors program,” D’Alia said. “The fact that they provide us with such an enriched educational experience for no cost is absolutely amazing because some of these museums can be pretty pricey for those of us in college.”

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