Inside of the simple white walls of a graduate student apartment, a heavy floral couch finds a quaint home.

Alongside it, an oak dining table sits with wedding photos, decorating the nearby walls.

Every week, fresh flowers are brought in to brighten the apartment’s atmosphere. The smell of cinnamon and decorative candles linger throughout the air.

The apartment belongs to Joseph Kaminski, who says beautifying his world through both decor and his studies is a way to share the simple joys in life.

Born in upstate New York to a family of engineers, Kaminski is a teaching assistant in spoken Latin and a master’s student studying classics at the University of Kentucky.

Although Kaminski said his interest in Latin and classics confused his family at first, the “beauty of the studies” seemed intrinsic to him and later came to impress his family. 

According to Kaminski, the sharing of beauty and the “simple things in life” are the reasons he attempts to ornament places like his apartment and why his passion for Latin has intertwined with teaching.

“We tend to push beauty off to the side a little bit, because beauty is not useful,” Kaminski said. “We live in such a utilitarian society that we need to make sacrifices sometimes, in order that beauty can be brought into the world.”

This sense of sharing beauty and a deeper inspiration is what Kaminski said drives his dreams of teaching and eventually becoming a professor.

“Just helping people engage with the beauty of Latin and to see the looks on their faces when they finally get that ‘aha’ moment,” Kaminski said. “Because it makes me happy, I want to share that happiness with other people.”

Growing up under the influences of a Catholic education with Latin intermingled, Kaminski said his studies faltered over the years. 

However, according to Kaminski, his joy for Latin was revived during the transitional years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I took a little hiatus when my undergraduate studies became a little too intense,” Kaminski said. “But then, for the sake of keeping my mental sanity, I returned to studying Latin on my own.”

Upon returning to his Latin studies, Kaminski said a few frameworks helped guide his teaching style and view on the world around him.

In Catholic school, Kaminski received an education in speculative sciences, philosophy and theology. Studies that, according to Kaminski, are learned for their own sake.

“I would say that was probably the great awakening for me,” Kaminski said. “But I would say being at a Catholic school, certainly there’s a huge emphasis on cultivating the soul.”

Cultivating his soul is something Kaminski said was done through living out a life of virtue, which is “not purely religious.” Instead, he said, virtue is a matter of fulfilling human ends and sharing passion.

“I’m of the opinion that society needs a lot more beauty in it, and a lot more people zealous for wisdom and education,” Kaminski said. “From my personal experience, that was my way to achieving that. And you know, is that everyone’s? Perhaps not.”

In a society he believes is “missing an interpersonal element,” Kaminski said he hopes to extend a sense of happiness to his students while also helping them become more knowledgeable by understanding Latin as a logical language.

This sharing and beautification is how Kaminski cultivates the soul. 

From his teaching to his apartment decor, Kaminski said his purpose in the world is decided by what he deems to elevate life, whether that be ornamentation or classroom conversation. 

“I think, as a society, we could do better to try to break a little bit from the utilitarian aspects and try to incorporate more beauty into the world,” Kaminski said. “Sure it serves the function, but does it lift the soul toward something higher?”