Olivia Parker

When I first got to Urbino I had just graduated high school with little direction to what I wanted to do. I had no major, no friends going on the trip, and I wasn’t even eighteen yet. Living here clarified my passion to travel-but in an unexpected way. Urbino allowed me to see everyday life in Italy, not just the way you see Italy in the movies or postcards (as much as it looks like one). The people of Urbino treated us more like long-lost relatives- a sense of distance but paired with an unmistakable familiarity-than tourists. The first night we went out to town felt more like coming home than leaving it, and I’m extremely grateful as well as lucky to have been able to call this place home for four weeks. If the people who live here shaped my perception on travel and myself then the teachers we worked with gave me a path to what I want to study. Interacting with students with the same interests and the extremely reputable faculty helped me decide what direction I want to follow in college and what I want my life to be like afterwards, one with question and adventure.