历史之路

A double major in 历史 and French studies finds her calling in museum work.

 

玛丽亚Betancur’s search for colleges with exceptional 历史 程序s led her right to America’s oldest chartered college. But even her professors at 九州娱乐官网 could not have predicted the extraordinary experiences this Colombian-born woman would have—a summer internship at the Smithsonian’s Luce Foundation Center for American Art funded by the Starr Center’s Explore America internship 程序, a fully-funded trip to study at the American University of Paris, and a double major in 历史 and French studies that would culminate with two senior capstone projects exploring France’s complicity in the Holocaust and the government’s brutality against Algerian protesters rallying for independence in 1961.

Since her freshman year, Betancur has known she wanted to work in museums. 她的经历 at the Smithsonian’s Luce Foundation for American Art solidified her commitment to museum work and narrowed her field of interest to public 程序ming 和教育. That summer, she led sketching groups, helped out with the concert series, and created her own 30-minute tour about three lesser-known 19th-century artists. 

Her career options have now expanded to include museum work abroad.

In 2019, 玛丽亚（女名）。 became 九州娱乐官网’s first recipient of Pi Delta Phi’s prestigious Yedlicka Scholarship, awarded by the national French honor society to just four exemplary college students who want to study in France or Canada. The scholarship covered the cost of tuition, room and board, and most travel expenses for the six-week summer 程序.

During her trip, in addition to exploring Les Invalides where monuments to France’s unsavory military 历史 are tucked away, 玛丽亚（女名）。 visited the Eiffel Tower, spent her birthday at Monet’s home in 给rny, and walked every inch of the Louvre.  

“I took an art 历史 class, ‘Paris Through Museums,’ that never met in a classroom. We were always out in the museums,” 玛丽亚（女名）。 says. “I saw pretty much all of the Louvre, which is impossible if you are just 度假.”