The ISA JournalAlumni Perspectives: Finding Success with ISA

Mae Genovese is a Global Ambassador at Bucknell University and ISA Rome alumna. In this blog, Mae shares how she chose her study abroad destination and how her decision impacted her personal and academic goals.

My name is Mae and I was in ISA’s Rome program last Spring. I have always wanted to study abroad ever since I was in elementary school and my aunt told me about her time studying in Florence and Rome. From that point, I knew I wanted to study abroad and that somewhere in Italy might be a good choice. Going into the process years later, I knew I wanted to be in Italy after briefly considering South America since I knew some Spanish. I looked at the location itself before looking at programs. For example, how big is the city, what is it known for, and what is the overall culture. Surprise, I decided on Rome.   

I loved my time in Rome due in part to the great advisors and excursions that ISA provided. Another big reason for my success in enjoying my time abroad was choosing my country and city carefully. Before going to Rome, I knew it was the best place for me which allowed the transition to be easier. Rome met my academic and personal goals. 

Studying abroad in Rome allowed me to flesh out my second major, art history. I ended up choosing Art History as a second major by chance. Coming in as a freshman, I knew I was going to be an accounting major, but I was interested in adding another major or minor to my accounting degree. I wanted to add dimension to my education and see information through another perspective. I had taken some other classes and realized that I enjoyed my art history electives the most. In the end, I had enough room for a major with a few overloads which seemed worth it as I loved these classes. 

My time in Rome provided me with the opportunity to live among the best art from Ancient Roman to the Baroque. While abroad in Rome with ISA, I took two Art History classes. My Art History classes in Rome were focused on experiential learning. One was Renaissance in Rome which was taught by a professor who was an expert in the field having written several books on the Renaissance. It consisted of touring Rome during our weekly classes. We saw almost every painting, sculpture or building that we talked about in person during the class period or the following one. In my other class, we got to handle ancient pottery from North Africa from the university collection. One of the most memorable tours I went on with my Renaissance in Rome class was to the Roman countryside where we saw Renaissance Villas. We also went to Farnese Palace and Villa Lante. In between the tours of the two villas, I had an amazing lunch with my classmates. We basked in the sun, ate raviolis, and drank wine. The Villas were impressive, and my professor said that not many people see them as they are located out of the way. From this trip, I got the necessary information to write my research paper for the class which was on the gardens of Renaissance Villas. I could not have received this experience anywhere else in the world and it has allowed me to have a unique approach to my second major. 

One personal goal was wanting to learn Italian. My grandmother came from Italy when she was three and was fluent in the language. I wanted to learn the language of my roots in order to better understand Italian culture and my own history. While this was my intention going into Rome, there were a few obstacles to achieving it. One was the language barrier. It was so much larger than I expected. I have a background in Spanish but am nowhere near fluent and had only three weeks of Duolingo Italian before arriving in Rome. This in combination with the fact that where I lived most people spoke Italian and barely any English made it hard to progress and gain confidence in my abilities. For example, my gym, organized through the university, was almost all Italians. I tried to explain a situation to the front desk woman once and she did not understand at all. In this way, I was forced to use Italian and Google translate quite a bit. My crowning achievement was being able to order gelato in complete and comfortable Italian by the end of my semester. I still use small words in Italian like pronta or andiamo but know if I ever try to pick it back up again, it will come to me quickly. Another barrier to learning Italian outside of the classroom is that I did very much feel like a foreigner while there. It felt like the word “AMERICAN” was written on my forehead even though I tried to blend in as much as possible. Italians, though skeptical in Rome as they have many tourists, were kind once you broke through the surface. For example, the man working at the gelato place in my neighborhood saw that I was having trouble pronouncing the double cc in nocciola when ordering gelato and tried to explain why it is a “ch” and not a “k” sound. All in all, I think I had to adjust my goal, but it was still achieved as I now recognize Italian when I hear it and feel like I know my family history a little better through knowing this language.  

Another personal goal is that I want to live and work in Europe. I had traveled to Northern Europe but wanted to experience the South. My life in Rome allowed me to experience this change in pace. While in Rome, I lived in an apartment with other ISA students. It was about a 20 minute walk from campus but there was also a bus available that I took when I did not feel like walking. I loved my apartment and made some of my closest friends from this placement. I came into this program knowing no one but I valued this place where we all could be American: wearing leggings, talking about how we missed Chia and Matcha, and how we were sick of pasta, gasp!  

I was overloaded, taking five classes, so I was quite busy with coursework. My classes were demanding, and I had a few night classes to accommodate business professors that also had full-time jobs. Due to this fact, I was usually at the university from 9 am to 9 pm. However, this was not normal. Outside of my studies, I observed that Rome has the hustle and bustle aspect but not in the same way as New York. It very much so was on a slower pace of life. People talked to each other. I remember seeing a man in a sports car honking and waving at one of the trashmen on the back of the trash truck in the center of the city. Because everyone is so social and seems to know each other, Rome can also feel like a small town sometimes. This seemed like a key quality of Southern European culture. I loved my time in Rome but in the end, I did prefer the North which I had predicted before studying there. I am a very Type-A person so being in a more relaxed, sometimes chaotic and disorganized environment was a constant grate against my personality. Also, people in Rome did not value my very logical and highly organized way of thinking which I found hard at times. If I was to live in Europe long-term it would be in the North most likely with an accounting firm. However, living abroad it has made me realize how truly American I am and made me rethink permanently relocating somewhere outside of the country, as I do enjoy things like fluff and wearing leggings a bit too much at this point to give up.  

As you approach this process, try to think about your personal and academic goals for study abroad. Think about what would be the best opportunity for yourself and your major that cannot happen at your current university. For example, if I was a theater major I might have chosen London for the place where Shakespeare wrote his plays or if I was from a landlocked state and want to be surrounded by the ocean maybe I would study on an island in the Caribbean. There are so many ways that you can make this experience propel you as a person and a student while traveling the world and making lifelong friends and memories. Rome allowed me to connect with my Italian heritage through culture and language, helped me advance my second major by being able to see the layers of art within Rome, and made me reconsider moving abroad permanently. But, in general, this can be an overwhelming process so just take a breath and know that wherever you go it will be a life changing experience. 

Interested in reading more from ISA students? Read more stories from Italy or explore other alumni posts.