Spending five weeks studying in Italy and engaging in all that the beautiful country has to offer is something many people merely dream about. Since returning home just a week ago from actually living that dream, I can confirm that it all still feels like something out of a fantasy. I am in awe of the ways in which my time abroad has already benefited me personally and will undoubtedly continue to make a positive impact in both my academic and professional careers. When people inquire how my trip was, I often find myself answering, “Incredible.” And although the response may seem initially generic, my experience was nothing short of the word.
Throughout my time in Italy, I partook in two courses totaling six credits. The first of these was an art history class which focused on some of the great Renaissance artists and their work. Daily lectures, taught by an impressively knowledgeable professor, were paired with museum visits and citywide walking tours. This combination allowed for an unexpected integration of the course content into daily life. My roommates and I often found ourselves walking the streets of Florence, pointing out Medici crests, Gothic archways, and other key aspects of Renaissance era infrastructure along the way. Although we did this somewhat jokingly at first, it became a subtle and consistent example of how much knowledge we were gaining from the class.
The second course, centered around engineering and sustainability practices during the Renaissance, was perhaps even more abundant in applicable knowledge for an engineering student such as myself. Alongside thirty eight of my peers from various engineering disciplines, I was challenged to explore some of the earliest engineering practices and evaluate the sustainability of those developments. Throughout this exploration, it was refreshing to gain a variety of perspectives from students representing just about every major Swanson has to offer. Our discussions on early medical devices benefitted from the input of bioengineering students, while lectures on Brunelleschi’s dome were strengthened by those with a civil engineering background, and so on. The importance of learning from and collaborating with engineers from a variety of backgrounds is certainly one of the key takeaways that I will carry into my future career.
Additionally, the integration of art and engineering that was introduced throughout both aforementioned courses will remain at the forefront of my mind as I approach engineering challenges in the future. Although engineering can often be a strongly analytical field, my time in Florence has reinforced the importance of keeping a creative perspective when pursuing innovative solutions. Living in Florence, a city often esteemed as the birthplace of the Renaissance, also reiterated to me the necessity of learning from the past. I found that it is important to reflect upon and consider the motivation behind some of the earliest engineering developments. Throughout the program, I often found myself asking what ideas and products from the Renaissance continue to be used, and which of these things could benefit from improvement. A class visit to the Galileo museum revealed that medical birthing devices have remained largely unchanged over time, while other innovations such as electricity and navigational technology have seen great improvement. This skill of critical observation to determine whether something has been maintained out of convenience and familiarity or true excellence of the product will likely come in handy in my future engineering endeavors.
Alongside the invaluable memories and connections made throughout my trip, the broadened global engineering perspective and deepened love for travel that this experience afforded me will not soon be forgotten. My time in Florence has reminded me to embrace a slower pace in life, when possible, and enjoy the little things. It may seem silly, but since returning home, I have been attempting to experience my hometown from a tourist’s perspective, maintaining that “once in a lifetime” enthusiasm for life. With this comes an even stronger hope for an eventual “twice in a lifetime” reunion with Florence. I am incredibly grateful for my time in the beautiful city and all of the personal, academic, and professional growth that was fostered there.