“NYC: A Slice of Cultural Cheesecake” J-Term Study Tour a Success

A group of Carthage students recently returned from their J-Term in June Study Tour: “NYC: A Slice of Cultural Cheesecake.” For just over two weeks, these students explored New York City and engaged with some of the incredible theater and fine art there.

From their hotel in Times Square, the group was situated in the heart of New York City’s vibrant culture. While there, students saw performances of Lin Manuel Miranda’s “Hamilton”, 2018 Tony Award Winner for Best Musical, “The Band’s Visit”, Eugene O’Neill’s classic, “The Iceman Cometh”, and “Angels in America Part I and Part II”, which featured Tony Award-winner and film star Andrew Garfield. Additionally, the students toured art museums and were given the opportunity to find their own adventures, many having the opportunity to attend shows Off-Broadway and experience the breadth of life in New York.

For budding artists, this trip has the potential to be life changing, as was the case for Sami Salmi ’20. “The most memorable part of the trip was being sent out on our first day, by ourselves, to learn how the subways work,” she said. “It was so fascinating to see what our future lives in New York will be like, and it helped us look less like tourists for the rest of the trip! It was also so stunning to see casts and crews living our dream lives every night. Watching people perform to that caliber, and seeing insane technical aspects I never thought were possible, made me realize my passions for creating art are so strong.”

When asked what she’ll take away from the trip, Kayla Saavedra ’20 said “theatre is a truly magical art that continues to grow whether it’s with different themes in shows, seeing more minority representation on stage, or technology being used in a show. Theatre is something that anyone can enjoy and can take something different away from. Theatre starts a conversation and I think it will continue to do so and that was a huge takeaway for me.”