By Luis Enrique Cisneros Pito
Art & Entertainment Editor
Luis.CisnerosPito5406@mb.rctc.edu
From left to right, Catherine Egenberger, Kyong Juhn and Dr. Young Juhn (Echo Photo by Luis Enrique Cisneros Pito)
Former Rochester Community and Technical College student Kyong Juhn recently returned to her old stomping grounds to speak of her experiences at the Camino de Santiago.
The return to RCTC was one of melancholic joy with art history instructor Catherine Egenberger giving a heartfelt introduction to one of RCTC’s well respected alumni. This introduction marked the start to the journey Mrs. Juhn would take not only through her journey at El Camino de Santiago but also her time as an RCTC student and onto pursuing and experiencing her future endeavors in life.
El Camino de Santiago de Compostela, known as St. James’ Way in English, is a route with a series of trails pilgrims took to pay homage and respect to the apostle St. James’ final resting place. This medieval pilgrimage is one that people from across the world still embark on, though not always for the same reasons as of old. Still, in 1993 the Camino was declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization.
In her talk, Juhn took her audience with her blistering crusade across the Spanish-French border. The arduous journey, a 500-mile walk in the northern Iberian Peninsula, was one that tested her mental, emotional, and physical fortitude.
The rendition of the events, sights, and people she encountered along the path left many with a sense of overwhelming respect for a fellow colleague, friend, and family member they had the pleasure to meet along their own walk of life.
Her depictions of her experience and the things she learned on and after the walk taught many in the audience a thing or two about life.
It does not have a grand conclusion at the end. Instead, life is a continuous path of many routes and many lessons to be learned.