Global Experiences
Language Learning
I am extremely grateful for my language learning experience at the University of Florida. In particular, the Italian department was instrumental in my academic success. At every stage of my language learning I felt supported and encouraged. There were times in which I struggled but I always felt that my professors wanted me to succeed. Some of my fondest memories are attending their office hours for extra help. Although it sometimes pushed me out of my comfort zone, I am grateful that they pushed me to only speak Italian. When I was nervous to present in Italian, my peers were extremely kind and made me feel comfortable. The best part of my language learning experience was that they fostered an atmosphere were it was ok to make mistakes. This was crucial for my progress and helped me on a personal level to stop being a perfectionist. My language learning experience was even better during my study abroad because I still had the support of my familiar professors but I also had an immersive environment. Having great relationships with my professors helped immensely as I was not as nervous to make mistakes or ask questions. I looked to them for advice and guidance while over there and am glad I did so. My experience learning a second language was very positive and has increased my interest in learning other languages. Without the language requirement in my college, I would not have discovered my love for language. It was after taking my intermediate courses that I decided to study linguistics and learn more about how we process language. I owe a lot of my wonderful university experience to the Italian department at UF. They fostered a great passion in me for literature and cultural studies. I will take the lessons I have learned here and use them for the rest of my life.
Italian Student Association
As secretary and historian of the Italian Student Association (ITSA) I had the opportunity to collaborate with my peers to create events that celebrate Italian language and culture. One of my favorite events was our end semester festa, where we provided a potluck of Italian food and spent time together. I taught others how to play the Italian card games Briscola and Scopa, which I learned during my study abroad. I also prepared tiramisu and amaretti. I enjoyed practicing my conversational Italian skills and loved being able to ask my Italian friends about slang and more casual ways of speaking. Speaking in Italian in a more informal setting was initially slightly out of my comfort zone, but remembering that there were people of all levels of Italian there helped me through the experience. The supportive environment also contributed to me gaining confidence in my abilities. I learned new slang terms and more about the lives of my Italian friends. We often discussed cultural differences, such as what school was like in Italy compared to the US. I learned new recipes and how to cook new dishes with members of ITSA and am grateful for this experience.
Another one of my favorite ITSA memories is our pizza-making night. We had lots of people over to one of the officer’s apartment to make pizzas together. It was wonderful to cook with others and to work together to make so many pizzas. We played Italian music and reminisced together about our study abroad experiences and future travel plans. A member even gave me restaurant recommendations for when I return to Italy this spring to teach English as a second language. This aspect of the community is very important to me. I love being able to reach out with questions or ask advice. Now that I have finished my Italian degree, I feel that I can give others advice and realize that I too have valuable knowledge I can share. It is surreal to see freshman with no Italian experience and realize that that was me for years ago and now I have a degree in Italian studies.
International Coursework
My international courses provided me new perspectives and broadened my horizons. One of my favorite courses was Modern Italian Poetry. In this course, I got to study poetry in my second language for the first time. This changed my life. Today I can proudly say that one of my poems was published in Italy this past August. That would’ve been unbelievable to me two years ago when I was taking the course. This course introduced me to well-known Italian poets and pushed me to read more in my second language. I also always enjoy the more creative projects in my international courses. For this course we had to write a poem in Italian inspired by our readings from the semester. I wrote three, each from different perspectives, and created a video with images to represent the images in the poem. I was grateful that two of my other Italian professors lent their voices for the recording. My professors in my international courses always encourage my creative ideas and I feel that this positively shaped my academic career. Today I happily read Italian poetry and create my own. I enjoy translation and my translations of an Italian poet, Matteo Meloni, will be published in 2026 in Delos, a journal of world languages and literatures. Without this one course on Modern Italian Poetry, I do not think I would’ve had the confidence to pursue this type of work. This course provided me a good foundation for studying Italian literature and I often returned to the course to re-read some of my favorite authors. I am excited to return to Italy this spring with all of my newly acquired knowledge of the culture and language. Since studying Modern Italian Poetry I have longed to visit some of the places that inspired the poetry we discussed.