Live and learn

By Betsy Baertlein
Cardinal Staff


It’s hard to believe that it has been another month in Italy, and soon my time here will draw to an end. It will definitely be hard to leave, even though I really do love Minnesota. As I reflect on the time I’ve spent in Europe, I cannot help but come to the conclusion that everyone should study or travel abroad at some point. Not only have I had some of the best experiences of my life in Italy, I have also learned so much about being a citizen in today’s globalized world. My time in Italy has been a series of many “live and learn” moments, and each of these moments has given me confidence.

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Before traveling to Italy, I had never been outside of the United States. I will admit that I was pretty scared and lost when I first arrived at the Minneapolis airport. I now feel confident finding my way through airports and train stations, and I know I can go into a foreign city where I don’t speak the language and find my way around. If I had not had the opportunity to study abroad, I don’t know how I would have gained this confidence.

It has recently come to my attention that Saint Mary’s intends to significantly change the Florence study abroad program to allow students to study a greater variety of subjects with a more diverse group of students and to live more independently while studying abroad. I agree that these changes will improve the SMU Florence program as a whole.

However, along with these positive changes comes a negative side. Since SMU will no longer operate its own program in Florence, students will only be able to apply $2,000 of their SMU scholarships to studying abroad in Florence. Previously, students wishing to apply their scholarship of more than $2,000 to study abroad could choose between the SMU programs in Florence and London. Now it appears that the only choice for these students will be London.

Studying abroad would not have been possible for me if I had not been able to use my full scholarship from SMU. It saddens me that other SMU students may miss out on this valuable experience because of monetary issues. I sincerely hope that the university will continue to realize the value of studying abroad and make this opportunity available to as many qualified students as possible.