Students reflect on embedded program exposing them to ancient Greek culture

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — This spring, Penn State’s CAMS 199: Monuments of Ancient Greece embedded program offered students the opportunity to connect classroom learning with real-world experiences that brought ancient Greek history to life.

Through the immersive education abroad experience, students traveled across Greece while studying classical mythology, archaeology and ancient Greek culture alongside College of the Liberal Arts faculty members Mark Munn, professor of ancient Greek history and archaeology, and Hannah Smagh, assistant teaching professor of classics and ancient Mediterranean studies. Over eight days, they explored museums, historical landmarks and important religious sites that have shaped Greek history, including Athens, Olympia, Delphi and Epidaurus.

Many students in the program were able to participate with support from enrichment funding through the Liberal Arts Career Enrichment Network, which helps reduce financial burdens to out-of-classroom experiences.

For Jasmin Tanner, a global and international studies major with a minor in world literature, the program transformed what she had previously learned about Greek mythology into a meaningful, hands-on experience.

As part of their responsibilities, students researched a specific topic and presented it at one of the locations visited during the trip. Tanner delivered her presentation at the Thebes Museum on the myths of Cadmus and his family. Preparing the presentation allowed her to deepen her understanding of the material while connecting it directly to the site itself, she said.

“It allowed all of us to expand further on what we learned on the trip and share that knowledge with everyone else,” Tanner said.

One site that left a particularly strong impression on Tanner was the Sanctuary of Asclepius at Epidaurus. Known as an ancient healing center, the sanctuary offered insight into how the ancient Greeks understood health, spirituality, and the relationship between humans and the gods.

The location created a profound emotional connection for Tanner, who described feeling a sense of peace and immersion while walking through the theater and surrounding landscape.

“I had moments where I was thinking, ‘Can I not leave? Can I just stay here?’” Tanner said.

The experience also changed how she viewed museums and historical spaces, she said. The museum at Epidaurus felt more closely tied to the site’s history, emphasizing original artifacts and context rather than heavily designed exhibits or modern presentation techniques. For Tanner, the environment allowed visitors to connect more directly with the culture and significance of the site.

Luciano Ragonese said the program provided an opportunity to explore interests that extended beyond his usual coursework. With a demanding academic schedule that includes multiple majors, a minor and an on-campus job, traveling had always seemed difficult to fit into his plans.

The program’s archaeological focus piqued Ragonese’s interest, so he decided to apply even though the subject was outside his primary majors and initially felt out of reach financially. With support from Liberal Arts enrichment funding, he was able to make the experience possible.

“I am studying mathematics, linguistics and statistics, but I wish I could study so many other things,” he said. “In the back of my mind is my childhood desire to travel.”

That support allowed him to explore a long-standing interest in archaeology and travel to Greece — an experience he said would not have been possible otherwise.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the program for Ragonese was seeing how ancient and modern Greece exist together in the same spaces, like the archaeological sites that sit near subway stations in Athens.

Visiting Olympia was another highlight for Ragonese. Seeing the Olympic rings represented at a variety of places where the ancient Olympic Games began emphasized the strong sense of cultural pride associated with the location, he said.

Outside of class activities, Ragonese especially enjoyed exploring local communities. Walking through lively neighborhoods filled with shops, restaurants and people going about their daily lives allowed him to experience Greece beyond what is typically studied in textbooks.

“The trip was eye opening because I learned a lot about things I did not know about Greece, about Greek culture, and even about myself as a learner,” Ragonese said

Ireland McDyre, a linguistics and anthropology major with minors in journalism and classics and ancient Mediterranean studies, found that interacting with local people and culture played an important role in her learning experience.

During one conversation, a local shared personal experiences about the intricacies of their familial dialect. The interaction reinforced topics McDyre had studied in her sociolinguistics classes and gave her a firsthand perspective on how language shapes cultural identity and cross-cultural communication, she said.

Traveling also encouraged McDyre to step outside her comfort zone. Observing how classmates interacted with people and approached new situations helped her become more confident and open to new experiences.

One of her favorite memories from the trip was visiting the Sanctuary of Apollo in Delphi. Surrounded by mountains and breathtaking scenery, the site was both historically significant and visually stunning, she said.

Reflecting on the experience, McDyre described it as “short lived and beautiful.”

Tori Korman, a triple major in anthropology, classics and ancient Mediterranean studies, and Jewish studies with minors in Latin and Greek, said seeing the historic sites in person provided a completely different perspective than the classroom. Walking through ancient locations helped her understand the relationship between geography, architecture and historical events, she said.

Her presentation focused on the Philippeion Monument at Olympia, a structure from the Late Classical period. Presenting at the site itself allowed her to analyze how the monument had been reconstructed and to consider how historians decide which parts of ancient structures to preserve or restore.

One of Korman’s favorite assignments was keeping a daily journal during the trip. Writing about each day’s activities allowed her to reflect on the sites she visited and how they influenced her understanding of the ancient world, she said.

Delphi stood out as her favorite location during the program. After hiking up the mountainside, the view from the top revealed dramatic cliffs and expansive landscapes surrounding the sacred site. Standing among the ruins helped her understand why people have traveled to the location for thousands of years.

Overall, the experience strengthened Korman’s interest in archaeology and her plans for future academic work. She hopes to pursue graduate study in classics and said she will attend an archaeological field school in Croatia this summer.

In her view, there’s incredible value in studying abroad through a structured academic program.

“This is a great way to travel that’s better than going on your own because you are with faculty experts who have so much enthusiasm and knowledge about the topic,” Korman said.