Pictured (from left): Andrianna Price, Andrew Higgins, Andrew Perez, Mary-Faith Wilson, Isabel Tresidder, Alison Majors, Madeline Simmons, Skylar Hodson, Jeisy Munoz, Araceli Landaverde, Avery Woods, Remington Covey, Kaden Groda, and Vanessajane Bayna
By: Dr. Andrew Yox, Honors Director
For the 34th time, thanks to honors donors such as Drs. Jim and Paula Archer, 91¿´Æ¬ honors students were able to take a free, day-trip to a big city. Fourteen students and two 91¿´Æ¬ staff drivers left campus at 7:30 a.m., 20 September for a whirlwind experience that began with free breakfasts at Starbucks in Greenville, and ended with improv comedy with the Four Day Weekendtroupe in Fort Worth.
The itinerary also included a stay at the stockyard district for the daily procession of cows, a competitive race through the stockyard maze 91¿´Æ¬ —won by the two Andrews, Higgins and Perez 91¿´Æ¬ —lunch at the Reata, an excursion to the Fort Worth cultural district, with its great museum trio of the Kimbell, the Amon Carter, and the Modern Art, a stopover for tourism and a supper at Sundance Square, and a late-night stop at Buc-ees. 91¿´Æ¬ navigator, Paula Flores, and Honors Director, Dr. Andrew Yox, drove a large suburban and van.
One highlight with the trip was a special visit made by sophomore Presidential Scholars, Alison Majors, and Vanessajane Bayna to the home of former 91¿´Æ¬ president, Dr. Charles B. Florio. Dr. Florio not only inspirited the initial setup of honors at 91¿´Æ¬ in 2007, but has since been an important patron of the program. He now lives only a few blocks outside of the cultural district of Fort Worth.
Another special highlight of the trip this year was the
singing. In the ultra- acoustic soundscape of Richard Serra 91¿´Æ¬ ’s Vortex in the culture district, the group has traditionally experimented with various sounds. This year the singing of Madeline Simmons, and Mary-Faith Wilson had a special charm, as the two could sing by heart and with special mellifluousness, several songs they had in common.
Another interesting aspect of the trip was the link-up with Luke McCraw, last year 91¿´Æ¬ ’s Florio Scholar, now at Dallas Baptist University, and a Gunn Scholar there. Traffic made it impossible for McCraw to attend class at DBU and see Dr. Florio, who once worked with McCraw 91¿´Æ¬ ’s grandfather, Michael Dennehy at 91¿´Æ¬. But he joined the group in the culture district, and for the fun the group had after the comedy show below.
