Kate's European Excursion!

Kate Kinder Start Date: Dec 2, 2014 - End Date: Mar 31, 2015
  • Study/Degree Abroad
  • Professional Development
  • Educational/Research Trip
  • Paris, France
  • Berlin, Germany
  • Versailles, France
  • Florence, Italy
  • Greece
  • Iceland

My Travel Story

by: Kate Kinder Start Date: Dec 2, 2014 - End Date: Mar 31, 2015
  • Study/Degree Abroad
  • Professional Development
  • Educational/Research Trip
So, here I am in Tampa, Florida. I moved many miles to continue my life as a painter to become a painter with a graduate degree.... but the thing is, I've never been outside of the United States! I've never seen the hillsides where VanGough painted, or walked through the gardens of lillypads where Monet once worked, seen the Chartes cathedral or the Louvre. I am grateful beyond words for the amazing opportunity I have been offered here at the University of South Florida, and one of the many other opportunities that has been placed in front of me since I've arrived is to visit Paris, France in June, 2015!

Going to Europe would be an unbelievable, life-changing experience, not only professionally but personally as well. My passion for creating has been fueled thus far by an innate obsession to make things as a means of exploring the world, and now I feel the need to take it a step further and submerse myself in the rich world I am a participant in. I make paintings that question the relationship between paint and surface while introspectively searching a means to relate to others while maintaining individuality. I feel that the pure magnitude of art alone in Europe will further my breadth of knowledge and thinking, and I am sure that it will allow me to make a greater impact on the arts community.

I desire to utilize my passion for creating in the future to make a larger difference in other communities. I feel a strong connection to my artistc community at school, as well as the one I was so blessed to be a part of in Bowling Green, Kentucky. y visiting other places and obtaining as much knowledge and experience as I can will help me solidify my passions and goals.

I will begin my three month journey in Paris, France with a group of colleagues studying the history of art first hand. Then I will continue alone, facing the railways of Europe to explore Greece, Amsterdam, and Berlin. Although I grew up in a tiny town in the countryside of Kentucky, I am anxious to grow in the countrysides of many other cities around the world.


  • Paris, France
  • Berlin, Germany
  • Versailles, France
  • Florence, Italy
  • Greece
  • Iceland

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