Stepping back in time through travel, art, and history
Dr. Breezy Taggart | Assistant Dean of Honors
Published September 04, 2025
Stepping back in time
The first time I boarded a plane to study abroad, I was bound for Rome with an over-stuffed backpack, a camera in hand, and an insatiable curiosity for history, food, culture and especially art. By the end of the trip, I found myself in Denmark, having traced a path across Europe that felt like walking through time itself. During a stop in Paris, I found myself at the Louvre, gazing up at the Nike of Samothrace from the foot of the staircase that leads toward it, hardly able to believe that my dream as a graduate student studying art history had become real. That I was seeing monumental works of art. That I was a part of history by stepping into these rooms, and that humans long before me felt just a bit closer than they did before. There is nothing quite like stepping into new spaces, cultures, and histories - moments that make you feel profoundly human and deeply connected to the shared story of humanity.
Study abroad offers you the same chance: to expand your world beyond the boundaries of time and place, to see yourself as part of something larger, and to return home changed in the best possible ways. You might trek the Himalayas while examining the relationship between people and landscapes in Nepal Wild & Working Lands, explore spirituality and culture firsthand in Buddhism in Thailand, or study the intersections of science, art, and healing in The Art and History of Medicine in London and Paris. Wherever you go, these experiences immerse you in living classrooms that can’t be replicated at home. Don’t miss your chance to discover them! Check out our Honors College study abroad opportunities, stop by the Education Abroad Fair next Wednesday, September 10, from 11 AM to 1 PM in the Union Ballroom, and explore the special travel scholarships Honors offers to help make your global journey possible. And join me sometime in the Louvre! I am headed there summer 2026 in a class called Photography and Paris: The History of the Camera and the City.
