As a part of their global journey, our Scholars join Afternoon Programs. Afternoon Programs are like classes at university, but with an emphasis on hands-on learning and excursions. Our Scholars don't just read about the value of volunteering or about theories of Art History, they volunteer and see great works of art for themselves.

Helping Hands, led by Julieta Pollari, MD and Francisco Brottier, MD, Baret Fellows and Medical Officers, gives our Scholars the opportunity to give back.

In New York City, they volunteered at God’s Love We Deliver, an organization that has delivered medically tailored meals to those in need for over 40 years. Working alongside volunteers who take time out of their busy schedules to make a difference, they helped pack hundreds of meals over the course of several hours.

The difference they felt was profound. Every Scholar we spoke to was craving more: to move through the world as an observer is simply different than being a part of it, and making a difference for others means making a difference for oneself. Julieta put it best: “If you care about something, you can use your time and act. By the end of the year, we want each of our Scholars to be able to say: "I really care about this, it's important to me, and I’m putting that care into action.” 

Our Scholars were moved as well. They found real purpose in this work.

“It's rewarding because we often take for granted the simple things in life. When you come into this community, it stands out how different your life is from theirs, and how you should be thankful and try to give back," was the perspective of Amelie Frasca, Baret Scholar ‘27.

“I think it's important to give back, but also to understand the world. Volunteering gives you both," was how Marian, Baret Scholar ‘27, put it.

One of the other great pleasures of the Baret year is traveling with our Art Historian, Tom Snow. With a PhD in History of Art from UCL, Tom Snow has lectured at UCL and Sotheby's Institute of Art for seven years, and his writings have appeared in Art Monthly, Frieze Magazine, Third Text, Grey Room, and Afterall. 

In each region, Tom takes our Scholars through its great museums, as well as its off-the-beaten path treasures. One such museum is the New Museum in New York City, where Tom Snow introduced our Scholars to the work of Arthur Jafa through the exhibition titled I Am Tony. Jafa’s work is renowned for, according to the New Museum, “placing the nation’s growing awareness of the history of institutional violence directed toward the Black community against the backdrop of the ascension of Black culture, music, and entertainment in American national identity.”

Our Scholar Ayira, '27, was moved by what she saw: “The exhibition made me more conscious of the fact that we’re living through history—that one day people will look back on our lives as history.”

A gap year with Baret means not only seeing the world’s great cities, but encountering the historical context that makes them modern. It means engaging with culture at a deeper level by contemplating it through an analytical and critical lens. It’s only by taking a deeper look, and engaging with experts like Tom on the cultural output of each region, that one can become a global citizen. By examining Jafa’s installations and exploring his filmic language, our Scholars placed themselves not only in the America that they are exploring today, but also in the context that made our contemporary experience.

Our Scholars look forward to being changed as much, if not more, by what they do as by what they see in their remarkable year.