A senior interior design major has been doing handstands at some of Europe’s most common tourist attractions.

Student finds new way to sightsee

Any given week, students in the Florence study abroad program can travel to some of the most recognizable landmarks in Europe. One of those students decided to make his experience at those landmarks a little different.

Senior interior design major Collin Glavic has been traveling throughout Europe since Jan. 6 and doing handstands at some of the most common tourist attractions, such as the Eiffel Tower, the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Colosseum.

“I told my friends ‘I think I’m going to do some handstands while I’m over there,’” Glavic said in a Skype interview.

At the significant places in Europe and any other place that has caught Glavic’s interest, he has done a handstand and photographed it for proof.

Glavic’s decision to do handstands shows a little bit about his outlook on life. They are the typical views, like always following your dreams and doing what makes you happy, but Glavic tries to follow them to the fullest.

He said he follows those views right into his interior design.

“You have to be your own person, your own designer,” Glavic said, “to make a mark on life.”

Terrence Uber, an interior design professor who has had Glavic in class, said Glavic is someone who enjoys life and has a very outgoing personality.

“I don’t know if the handstands would be typical,” Uber said, “but there are times when he would do physical actions to help entertain the students.”

Those character traits show in his decision to do his handstands at European landmarks, and Glavic agrees with that description.

Glavic describes himself as spontaneous, and he said, “I definitely have a knack for doing handstands sometimes.”

Glavic said a lot of people ask if he has a gymnastics background when they hear about his handstands. The answer is no. What he does have a background in is dance.

From sophomore to senior year in high school, Glavic and a group of friends decided to try something new. That something new was breakdancing.

“I was never really scared of getting hurt, so being able to do flips and stuff was a fun challenge,” Glavic said.

While he no longer does breakdancing, his ability to do handstands is making its way back across the Atlantic and into the College of Architecture and Environmental Design.

Uber suggested that the College of Architecture put some of Glavic’s handstand pictures in its newsletter.

“I think part of it is he wanted some memories to bring back from Europe,” Uber said. “Something that was unique.”

Uber said Glavic’s handstand pictures and his unique memories could help show future study-abroad students the opportunities in the program and the possible memories they could make for themselves.

“If you just show them a picture of the Eiffel Tower, they say ‘well, that’s Paris,’” Uber said. “Collin’s handstands are the eye-catching feature.”

Glavic has his future handstand locations planned. Throughout the rest of the semester in Europe he plans to go to Milan, Munich and Venice, and he’s hoping to get to either Spain or England.

All across Europe there are some of the most iconic places, so Glavic’s reason behind his handstands is simple.

“I’m throwing my style into the artwork around,” Glavic said.

Contact College of Technology reporter Nicole Aikens at [email protected].