Student perspectives

Kyle Fortin

After FSU graduate, Kyle Fortin, returned from her study abroad semester, she considered herself "one of the luckiest girls in the world."  After studying abroad in Florence, Italy her senior year, Kyle landed a job in Florence after graduation! 


"Even though my Dad thinks I was frolicking around Europe to go shopping for handmade leather bags, I actually did learn some things while there.

  •  I learned to try new foods.
  • I learned to be excited to wake up every day and not know who I could be meeting on my daily adventures.
  • I learned to not care about Snapchat and drama on social media. I learned to put the phone down and open my eyes; the world is a beautiful and incredible place...
  • I learned about myself. About the person I want to be and how to be me with the confidence and maturity I gained.  

Sure, studying abroad may not be all fun and games, there are definitely some things that were hard adjusting to.  For instance the language barriers, getting accustomed to the food, and living on a 5Euro/day budget.  Though, living in Florence taught me to embrace all of these little things...


I am the luckiest girl in the world because of where I am today.  Not only did I go to more countries than I can count on two hands, but I also came home with new lifelong friendships, an awesome internship... which resulted in a (part time) job after graduation... I will move back to Italy for the fall semester and I couldn't be more excited about it!"

The river at dusk
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Andrea Tata went abroad for a Spring semester and shared her experience of arriving in Dubrovnik, Croatia and beginning her study abroad journey.

"After spending the weekend in Montenegro, I was itching to get back “home” [to] Dubrovnik... For me, Dubrovnik is perfect; the sea is before us and the mountains behind, with the architecture and feel of Old Town giving this place a whimsical, historical, and fairytale feel.

I am so looking forward to the upcoming excursions provided by API to Bosnia, Italy, the Plitvice Lakes, Split, and Lokrum Island...

Even though it’s only been a few weeks since arriving in Dubrovnik, I am already afraid to blink! I know my time here will go by so fast and I’m appreciating every moment I can before the four months come to an end."

Croatia Bridge Mostar