Thousands of students across campus study abroad in one of Kent State’s multiple study abroad programs every year. These programs allow students to expand their education globally, learn new cultures and gain invaluable experiences.

With over 200 programs in 60 different countries, some of the most popular are Florence, Paris and Prague.

Connor Doran, a junior construction management major, studied abroad in Florence, Italy during the fall semester of 2022. His family planned a trip to Italy in 2020, but the trip was canceled due to COVID-19. Two years later, he was finally able to go abroad.

“One of my best friends, she was telling me about studying abroad,” Doran said. “So I looked into it and made a last-minute decision and was like ‘I deserve this, I want to go.’”

Like many of the students here on campus, Doran had concerns about traveling to a new country for a long period of time.

“Being in a foreign country for that long and not really having family with me, and only one friend there, I was pretty skeptical and nervous about that,” he said. “And the language barrier, that was pretty intense to think about … the culture differences too. They do everything so differently there, but I was able to overcome it.”

Doran’s favorite part was the atmosphere of living in Italy. His apartment was among others where local Italians live, which brought a new view to the culture that he had not experienced before.

“It was really interesting to live with Italians and understand their lifestyle,” Doran said. “The neighbors were super nice to us, inviting us over for dinner a few times. We got to teach them the American culture and they taught us about the Italian culture.”

The Florence program is built to allow students to have the freedom to explore the cities and countries surrounding the area they are in. To make this opportunity more accessible, there are no classes scheduled on Fridays to give students the ability to travel on their own.

In Doran’s case, he traveled to Venice, Rome, Verona and Pienza with groups from the school and to Greece on his own.

Finora Reilly studied abroad in Florence during the fall of 2022. The senior fashion merchandising major took advantage of the free weekends to travel, much like Doran. Her travel destinations included Venice, Milan, Copenhagen, Vienna, Salzberg, Brodeslavia, Berlin and Munich.

Reilly also studied abroad in Paris the semester prior to her time in Italy, which she said prepared her for her experience in Florence. Yet she still had some concerns about attending school in a foreign country.

“My biggest concerns were people oriented, I didn’t know anyone that was going,” Reilly said. Another concern of hers was the ability to be involved with organizations like student media on campus while she was in Italy.

Reilly was able to overcome this by still participating in organizations such as The Burr Magazine, A Magazine and Modista Fashion Group from a distance.

“A Magazine and The Burr were both very understanding of me, along with others, being abroad and were able to make accommodations for missed events,” she said. “I wasn’t the first person to stay involved while abroad and I certainly won’t be the last.”

Counter to Florence, there are many other programs, like the Paris American Academy, that offer a similar experience on a smaller scale.

“Florence is a much bigger program, so I liked Paris because the class sizes were really small and intimate. It was really hands-on and you got to be really close with your professors which I liked,” Hanna Bailey, junior fashion merchandising major, said. “I was able to make a lot of good connections there.”

Bailey studied abroad in Paris during the fall of 2022.

During her time in France, she gained new experiences in her career path that have helped her create connections with fellow students and professors who she met while she was abroad.

Bailey had a professor who taught her class while she was in Paris who also worked for Fucking Young! magazine at the time. She was able to make a meaningful connection with the professor which opened many doors for her, including photographing Paris Fashion Week.

“We were there during Paris Fashion Week which was amazing,” Bailey said. “We got to work some of the shows and I was doing a lot of street photography. So I got some of my photos published.”

Almost all of the students who studied abroad during their time at Kent State will tell you some of the same things. They’ll tell you that you will never regret it and to “step out of your comfort zone and do it.”

“Be open to new experiences,” Bailey said. “My favorite part of it was meeting new people, like locals, when I would go out. I met some people from all over the world that I still talk to. Don’t be afraid to try new things.”

Ashley Caudill is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].