This is probably the highlight of my first year teaching – last year. Not only were we able to start our very own archaeology club, which was hugely successful in its first ever campaign, but we were also able to get to Italy and see the real thing for ourselves.

These are two of my students, Isaac Mendieta and Julien Jacquelin. I adore both of them. Isaac was practically on fire with curiosity, every turn and every nook of every place we went in Italy offered something he hadn’t seen before. It was hard to keep up with him as he was always in front of everyone, trying to take in as much as he could. And Julien was, well, Julien. His mohawk made him quite the celebrity and ambassador to the Italians. He was an easy going, laid back traveling companion always interested in making new friends and learning more about what he was seeing and experiencing. He understood the value of what he was seeing and greatly respected the history surrounding him.

It was truly inspiring and fun to watch these two come to life in another country. I will never forget it, and I was glad we kept such a small group as it allowed us to kind of stew together in all the history and richness that was our trip.