Since the 2021-22 school year, I have had the privilege to travel with the Wantagh Fine and Performing Arts Department four times. As I get closer and closer to my graduation and prepare to say goodbye to the department which has provided me with these amazing experiences, I have decided it is important to reflect on the trips we have taken together and share my experiences to encourage students to take advantage of these travel opportunities in the years to come.
When I was a sophomore, the music department took over 200 students to Disney World and Universal in Orlando, Florida. We performed in Disney World, had two days in Universal and two days to explore two Disney parks, and participated in a special recording opportunity in Universal. This trip was how I discovered my love for traveling and flying. It was the first time I felt truly connected to my teachers who I would know for the next three years and the first time I truly realized the importance of the arts in school. As a junior in Chorale, I went with the choir, orchestra, and drama students to Chicago, Illinois to see the historic city, perform for a panel of esteemed judges, and of course, try authentic deep dish pizza, many of us for the first time as pizza-critical New Yorkers. Orchestra and Chorus won high honors from our adjudication and we all learned about the history of Chicago through bus tours and exploration of the city.
I have gone on two trips with the art department as well. As a junior, we went on an eight day adventure across three cities in California. Myself and 30 other students accompanied by Ms. Jones, Mrs. Douglas, Mrs. Gentilesco, and Mr. Hunter flew to San Francisco where we met our EF Tours tour guide, Carrie, and over the next week explored museums where we saw original Van Gogh’s, visited historical sites dedicated to the arts, connected with foreign cultures in Chinatown and at a film screening and Q&A panel with Tyrese Gibson and the Producers of Too Fast, Too Furious in honor of Black History Month, walked the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and visited US military history museums as we explored San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego. Most importantly, over the course of eight days, we built ourselves up from being practically strangers into a big friend group, almost a family within the department, as we all experienced this once in a lifetime trip together.
Most recently, I attended my second art trip, the last of my high school career. The art department went to Savannah, Georgia for three days. Every day was jam packed with museum tours, city exploration, and guided historical tours of the city from the time we landed in Savannah to the time we boarded our flight home. We had the opportunity to explore contemporary art museums and two of the 78 buildings making up the Savannah College of Art and Design campus. Once again we learned about the history of other cultures in Savannah when we visited the Savannah African Art Museum. We spent half of a day basking in the beautiful weather on Tybee Island, a beach town reminiscent of Montauk or Long Beach Island. For my last trip, I was lucky enough to travel with my younger sister for her introduction to traveling with the art department and my farewell.
With the art and music departments, I have had some of the best experiences of my life. These are stories that I will never forget. They are things I will tell my future college roommates, my colleagues, my family, and my friends. Every vacation I go on for the rest of my life will be reminiscent of my high school days. Because of Ms. Kelly Jones, Mrs. Cassidy, Douglas, Hagan, and Gentilesco, Mr. Hunter and Parlagreco and everyone else who has acted as a chaperone as we traveled from coast to coast and state to state has enriched my four years in Wantagh High School beyond my wildest dreams and has helped to build a community of students who have bonded forever and otherwise may never have known each other. These trips have been a testament to the goals of Ms. Jones and the Fine and Performing Arts Department to promote a love and appreciation for the arts and the connection of students through the art we make together. Traveling with school provides unique experiences and unexpected friendships for all involved. It is my advice to do what you can to experience even one of these trips, you never know what adventures you might be missing.