Centenary Connections: Crossing Paths at Versailles
Carolyn Morris Smith (center), a 2001 Centenary graduate, had an unexpected meeting with Centenary students and Dean of Students Mark Miller while on vacation with her husband and two daughters in August 2022.
My daughters - Leighton (10) and Gwendolyn (8) - have always wanted to go to Paris. I think the desire stems partially from reading Madeline books and from a couple of small paintings hanging in our home that my grandparents purchased in Paris decades ago. They have watched countless videos on not just the famous sites in Paris, but also on practical topics like how to avoid common street scams (don't touch the tchotchkes!).
We originally planned to go to Paris during Spring Break of 2020. Well, you guessed it. Less than 48 hours before we were to leave, the President went on national TV to announce the suspension of air travel to Europe. I spent countless hours unraveling plans and sitting on hold. Thankfully, we had not told our daughters about our plans, so they were spared the disappointment. Instead, we spent Spring Break riding bikes, flying kites, and enjoying crepes - albeit from Costco. I rescheduled the trip for March of 2021, but realized in November 2020 as Paris entered another lockdown that we would need to cancel once again. Finally, in 2022, things were looking much more optimistic and I decided that the third time must be the charm. Thankfully, it was! After 2.5 years, we finally told our daughters about our plans and boarded a flight that afternoon.
I had seen the Centenary social media posts about the freshman class leaving for Paris and casually mentioned it to my husband because we were planning to go to all the typical sites. On our first full day, I scheduled a bike tour of Versailles. I was trying to keep my daughters engaged and I thought a bike ride might be a fun way to experience the grounds of Versailles. My husband and I visited in 2010, but we only saw the grounds through a van window. Well, it was downright hot in Paris that week and we were pretty tired (and sweaty) from spending the morning biking around the canal and throughout the grounds. We entered the palace mid-afternoon, thankful to escape the sun. I had brought a Rick Steves book along and was trying to find the right page to read about the room we were standing in. My husband rounded the corner giddy with excitement. He was resting on a bench in one of the nearby rooms when he spotted some students in Centenary t-shirts and approached them. It was a smaller group of 5-10 students, as the rest of the class was elsewhere in Paris that day. It was certainly fun to make the connection!
I love that Centenary provides the incoming class this cultural experience as a part of the curriculum because I have to imagine that their collegiate experience will be richer for it. I wish I had the opportunity to travel abroad at a younger age because I think travel changes you. I first visited Europe as an adult and that trip made a lasting impression. Nothing compares to experiencing a different culture first hand. I distinctly remember walking through the Frari Church in Venice and how in that moment so many things that I had learned about church history over the years finally resonated by actually being able to experience it in person. The entire travel experience teaches things that cannot be learned the same way in a classroom.
Our family trip to Paris lasted five days and during that time we visited the top of the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, Versailles, the Louvre, Montmartre, the Musee d’Orsay, Saint-Chappelle, the Rodin museum, the Pantheon, and took a boat ride down the Seine. Our daughters describe their favorite day of the trip as the day we spent at Luxembourg Gardens where they sailed miniature sailboats, played, and rode a carousel alongside the local children. My hope for my daughters is that by experiencing different cultures at an early age, their educational career will be enriched by having experienced some of the places, things, and cultures they are learning about.
— Carolyn Morris Smith ‘01
Carolyn Morris Smith is a native of Dallas, Texas, and earned a degree in Business Administration with a minor in finance from Centenary. She was a member of the women’s golf team, Chi Omega, SGA, and Maroon Jackets during her undergraduate years. After graduation, she returned to Dallas and started a career in banking, eventually shifting to financial technology (fintech) where she continues to work today.