“This is the most interesting group of people I have ever met,” I overheard my peer Nick Lau say on a Sunday afternoon in the Parco della Resistenza. More than anything else this program has given me, I treasure the people I have met here and the relationships I have built the most. I never expected to laugh as hard, think as introspectively, or admire a group of people as much as I do during this short, four week period. I feel as though I have truly spent a lifetime here in Urbino. Navigating a new life abroad with people you have never met shapes you as a person. This is something I have always heard, but never believed. Upon leaving for Urbino, my father gave me one piece of advice: go into this with zero expectations, neither good nor bad. I made a point to begin my time here with an open-mind, and I am so glad that I did so. Of course, new experiences such as this will throw challenges at you left and right, but how you look at those challenges is what matters. It is easier said than done, but I have learned to find value in these challenges by treating each one as a new learning experience. I will always remember Urbino and the friends I have met here – grazie mille to each of you, and to the city that I have been lucky enough to call home.
Hometown: Richmond, Virginia
University: James Madison University
Major: Media Arts and Design (Creative Advertising)