by Niki Acton '16

In a recent trip to the Southwest American desert, Knox alumni and friends explored cultural sites, learned about the history and artwork of the Ancestral Puebloan people, and had a chance to exercise their photography skills.

Tour the American Southwest, led by Professor of Art History Greg Gilbert and Instructor of Art Michael Godsil '76, was the second trip sponsored by the Knox Alumni Travel Program. This June, the group spent a week exploring the Four Corners region and soaking in the knowledge of their faculty guides and local experts.

"Desert Southwest is a region of the country I hadn't seen much before the trip," said Lauri Tillman '91, who traveled all the way from Finland for the experience. "Seeing all those impressive places and being told about them by people who knew them inside and out was fabulous."

The group convened in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and embarked on a tour of New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Arizona. In addition to visiting parks, museums, and ruins, the group attended lectures by Godsil, Gilbert, and a local archaeologist on subjects ranging from desert photography to the influence of Navajo sand-painting on 20th century painter Jackson Pollock.

"I was struck by how intellectually curious the alumni were," said Gilbert, who delivered three of these lectures. "Knox produces graduates who want to dig into issues and have a lifelong desire to learn. This really came through for me on this trip. In fact, I felt like I was back in the classroom at Knox."

Gilbert teaches a course on Native Arts in the Americas but had never seen in person many of the important monuments that he covers in the class. Though he had researched the region extensively, he found a new depth of understanding through the trip.

"Now when I'm lecturing on these buildings, I can talk more precisely about their structure, their design, and their relationship to the region," said Gilbert. "By meeting local archaeologists and museum curators, I was able to get more precise information to bring back to my teaching."

A highlight of the trip occurred when Julie Hirshfield '92 and her husband opened their Albuquerque home to the alumni travelers for dinner and drinks on the final night of the tour.

The Knox Alumni Travel Program began in March 2016 with the Cuban Road Trip, led by faculty members Robin Metz and Liz Carlin Metz. Described as "the trip of a lifetime" by Sue Deans '70, the trip gave alumni participants a chance to experience Cuban culture and learn about writer Ernest Hemingway, who lived there for 20 years.

Upcoming opportunities through the Knox Alumni travel Program include:

• A second Cuban Road Trip, where alumni will learn about Cuban culture, music, and history. The trip will be led by assistant professor of anthropology/sociology William Hope and tour guide Scott Schwar '70, Cuba Tours 4 U.
• Florence: The City Experience will be led by Professor Emeritus Robert Hellenga. Alumni will have the chance to experience Florence through the eyes of Margot from Hellenga's 16 Pleasures, taking in the city's world-renowned food, wine, and art.
• Finding the Civil War will be led by Knox alumnus and historian Peter Cozzens '79. In Richmond, Gettysburg, and their surroundings, alumni will explore the great conflict that tore apart the United States from 1861-1865.