Hendrix students summer in Italy

CONWAY — Eight Hendrix College students are completing a month long study program in Florence, Italy.

The Hendrix-in-Florence program is funded by the Hendrix-Murphy Foundation Programs in Literature and Language. Students study the Italian language and visit the region’s significant artistic, cultural and historical attractions.

Hendrix students participating in the program include Emilia Bussard, a junior from Austin, Texas; Ana Contreras, a junior from Houma, La.; Sara Hales, a sophomore from Conway; Lindsey Jacks, a junior from Russellville; Trey Kalbaugh, a junior from Mount Vernon, Mo.; Josi Robertson, a junior from Russellville; Neelam Vyas, a junior from Little Rock; and Vicki Wood,a junior from Houston.

The students were accompanied by retiring theater arts professor Eric Binnie, who served as program faculty adviser.

“The Hendrix-in-Florence program has been absolutely amazing for me,” Hales said. “I experienced so much history and beauty through this program, through both studying the Italian language and living in the Italian culture.

“Italian grammar is very complex, and since our professor at the Università di Firenze didn’t speak much English, class was quite challenging at times, but we did gain a basic level of Italian skills.

“There is just nothing in the world like living in the city of the Renaissance. I love art and art history, so to stand before the original paintings of Raphael and Botticelli and Michelangelo’s David was a dream come true. This city is so busy and alive, yet so traditional and homelike at the same time. I feel like I now have a second home in Florence.”