Студентка из Миссури изучает искусство в Флоренции ради будущей педагогической карьеры

CHARLESTON — For Charleston High School graduate Lilly Johnson, studying Renaissance art in a classroom was one thing. Standing in the birthplace of the Renaissance and seeing centuries-old masterpieces firsthand was something entirely different. Johnson, who is entering her senior year at Missouri State University as an art education major, recently returned from a month-long study abroad program in Florence, Italy, an experience she said will help shape her future as an educator. “I primarily wanted to go because I’m going to be teaching art history one day,” Johnson said. “I think it’ll be really interesting to be able to tell students that I actually got to see the art and the history firsthand.” Johnson spent May 18 through June 20 in Italy as part of Missouri State University’s study abroad program. She traveled with 14 fellow Missouri State students and faculty members while attending classes hosted by the Santa Reparata International School of Art in Florence. Although she had previously traveled to the Caribbean, the trip marked her first journey to Europe. “I never thought I was ever going to be able to go to Europe in my life,” Johnson said. “I tried to soak everything in while I was there.” Getting there was an adventure in itself. Johnson flew from Springfield to Chicago, then to Madrid, Spain, before arriving in Bologna, Italy, followed by a bus ride to Florence. “It was nerve-wracking, but it was very exciting,” she said. “I’d never been on a flight longer than about three hours, and this one was around 10 hours.” For Johnson, Florence was the ideal destination because of its importance in art history. “That’s where the Renaissance started,” she said. “It’s just amazing to go from a small-town area to somewhere so big and filled with so much history.” Among the biggest lessons she brought home was a greater appreciation for just how much history surrounds Europeans every day. “It hadn’t dawned on me how young our country is compared to Europe,” Johnson said of the 250-year-old United States. “Everything there is old. The streets are hundreds of years old. Every building is old, and they’re not even allowed to legally change the storefronts because they’re historic.” Seeing famous works of art in person also gave her a new appreciation for the artists themselves. “It made me realize how smart the people were who made the art,” she said. “You couldn’t just be an artist. You almost had to be like a scientist or an engineer. A lot of the artists also designed and built buildings. It was really interesting to learn about these people while actually seeing their work.” While the overseas experience expanded her understanding of art history, Johnson said her passion for art began much closer to home. “I’ve always liked creating things,” she said. “I’ve always liked to write, draw, and make things.” Her studies at Missouri State have exposed her to a wide variety of artistic mediums, from painting and drawing to ceramics, woodworking, metalworking, and welding. “It’s really cool to be able to take the same idea and express it through different mediums,” she said. Johnson also discovered early in life that she enjoyed working with children. She began babysitting at age 12 and volunteered in the nursery and Vacation Bible School programs at church before later teaching Sunday school while in high school. “That really helped solidify for me that I liked working with kids,” she said. Although she knew she wanted to become a teacher, she didn’t settle on art education until her junior year of high school. “I had so many teachers inspire me throughout school,” Johnson said. “I wanted to be able to help kids, too.” As graduation from Missouri State approaches, Johnson hopes to return to Southeast Missouri to begin her teaching career. “I love Southeast Missouri,” she said. “I’d prefer staying here. It just depends on where there’s a job opening because art teaching is kind of a niche.” After spending a month immersed in one of the world’s great cultural centers, Johnson said her home appreciation has only grown stronger. “I love how small and tight-knit the communities are,” she said. “This is home for me. I love the people here.”