High School Students Can Travel in the Footsteps of Dante

Trip to Italy Qualifies for Benedictine College Credit

2018 JwD Group in Italy (Dante Mural)

Benedictine College is excited to announce the 2019 edition of Journey with Dante, the school’s summer study abroad program in Italy designed for high school students. Journey with Dante provides rising high school juniors, seniors, and graduating seniors the opportunity to earn college credit while learning about another world culture and studying great literature. The program, offered in association with World Bound Learning Projects LLC, is now accepting applications, which are available online at www.benedictine.edu/JourneywithDante.

High school students who participated last year said the experience provided a better understanding of the written material of the period.

“There are some things you learn more from experience than you do from the classroom,” said Thomas Tighe, a 2018 participant. “We didn't just read the Divine Comedy. We were guided, like Dante, through his life, to the places he lived and the experiences that inspired what we know today as one of his greatest works.”

Lauren Coldiron, a senior at Omaha’s Duchesne Academy who attended Journey with Dante in 2018, said it was a life-changing experience.

“From the moment I set foot on the other side of the world, I felt my confidence growing stronger,” she said. “I felt a deep sense of wonder for the world around me and a new appreciation for the small things in life. Through this new perspective, I have found beauty in everything, especially the ordinary aspects of day to day life.”

The program begins with group meetings and activities on the Benedictine College campus in Atchison, Kan. Then everyone, including professional staff and faculty, travels to Italy together. The entire program includes:

  • 3 weeks in Italy (June 16 to July 6, 2019)
  • Visit Rome, Venice, Florence, Milan, Padua, Bologna, Verona, Assisi and more
  • Attend an audience with Pope Francis
  • See Dante’s tomb
  • Explore St. Benedict’s monastery at Montecassino and the sacred grotto at Subiaco
  • Study Dante’s epic poem, The Divine Comedy
  • Earn 3 hours of college credit
  • Travel with a Benedictine College professor
  • All hotels, meals, travel and excursions in Italy included

Applications for the summer 2019 Journey with Dante program will be accepted through February 28, 2019.  Scholarships and early bird discounts are available. Applicants should complete the online form and will be asked to submit a letter of recommendation, a short essay, and their high school transcript. For more information, contact Megan Fassero in the Benedictine College Center for International Education at 913-370-5301 or by email.  

Founded in 1858, Benedictine College is a Catholic, Benedictine, residential, liberal arts college located on the bluffs above the Missouri River in Atchison, Kansas.  The school is proud to have been named one of America’s Best Colleges by U.S. News & World Report as well as one of the top Catholic colleges in the nation by First Things magazine and the Newman Guide.  It prides itself on outstanding academics, extraordinary faith life, strong athletic programs, and an exceptional sense of community and belonging.  It has a mission to educate men and women within a community of faith and scholarship.

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