"After studying the language intensively for my first three years of college, I knew that Italy was where I was meant to study abroad."
I always desired to escape my hometown in rural Ohio, hoping to immerse myself in a place alive with culture, music, and art. Even though I thought New York City would satisfy this yearning, I was wrong: its chaos and lack of distinct personality made me crave something more...something I sought from the only place I could get it: art---more specifically, the cinematic arts. And not just any cinema, but the Italian cinema.
Attending the Columbia Summer in Venice program allowed me to explore its rich history and world-building in some of my favorite films, such as Cinema Paradiso, Senso, and Lazzaro Felice, which were the catalysts for my interest in Italian culture as a whole. After studying the language intensively for my first three years of college, I knew that Italy was where I was meant to study abroad.
Studying abroad has, of course, provided me with an ability to globally contextualize all the academic material I previously, and am still, learning at Columbia. It's also enhanced my language-speaking skills and my confidence when speaking and making new connections.
