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Writer's pictureDonna Wotton

Donors Change Local Student’s Life Through Art Trip



April 12, 2022 Ticonderoga, NY – Ticonderoga Revitalization Alliance donors sponsored a trip to New York City museums last week for Michael O’Donnell, a Ti-Alliance scholarship recipient and art student at SUNY Adirondack. For him, the trip was life-changing.


Many of Ti-Alliance’s donors are especially supportive of projects that create opportunities for local youth. One of those donors met Michael during the annual meeting in August, where he expressed his aspirations and plans for college. During the conversation, they discovered that he had never been to a major art museum. In the spirit of generosity, they and other donors pooled some resources to remedy that situation.


Ti-Alliance organized an art trip to New York City. Michael spent three days touring the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET), the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), and the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). He saw Italian Renaissance classics, the Impressionists, Dutch Masters, sculpture, 20th-century modern art, new media, and fashion as art. No trip to New York City is complete without a little sightseeing and a Broadway show. So, Michael also visited the Statue of Liberty and saw The Lion King on Broadway, which was selected because of his interest in costume design.


“The trip was genuinely the most fun I’ve ever had. It was epic and life-changing for me,” said Michael. “I would like to thank Ti-Alliance, Donna, and everybody who helped make this weekend possible. It was a beautiful experience and my favorite part had to be the diversity and very individual self-expression of the art and people all around the city. The museums were full of so much history and inspirational work. The American Lexicon of Fashion exhibit was my favorite exhibit, as it showed me you can truly make anything into a piece of beautiful clothing or fashion. I loved every minute of it! Thank you so much for the opportunity.”


The educational trip had a tremendous impact on Michael, who aspires to own his own art studio in the Ticonderoga Area one day.


Ti-Alliance would like to thank all its supporters who generously donated resources to create this opportunity for Michael. You changed a life. For more information on how Ti-Alliance is working with students, visit their website at www.ticonderoga-alliance.org/skilled-workforce or contact Executive Director, Donna Wotton at donna@ticonderoga-alliance.org.

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