About My Study Abroad
Hello!
My name is Milena Stone, I am now 23 years old and I study at Kent State University in the Architectural Studies program, with a focus in Urban Studies.
Many students in the architecture program have often heard of the study abroad program to Kents Florence Italy campus, where you spend a semester during the summer learning about the likes of architecture. However throughout my years in school I never considered even attempting to study abroad, for the fact that it can be very expensive. I couldn't afford to take time off work, I couldn't afford to miss bills, I couldn't afford to make that sacrifice for an entire semester. Along with this I was quite a shy student who didn't venture too far out of her comfort zone and I started to feel that mentality was holding me back.
One day, my classmate introduced a two week program to Italy, sharing that they were planning on going and encouraged me to check it out, and since I was in my final years as a student I gave the idea a shot. The trip would be two weeks to a couple different cities throughout Italy, learning about the globalization of our food production. The topic I loved, it really resonated with my childhood and growing produce and livestock with my grandparents. I also like the idea of only being gone for two weeks, a reasonable amount of time that worked with my schedule.
Beyond finding a suitable study abroad program, I was unsure of how I could even afford to go. After talking to other classmates on how they financed their trips and with my advisors, I learned about the Benjamin A. Gilman scholarship program that aided students in their trips to study abroad! I immediately began the application process, and within that allowed me to reflect more on why and how I wanted this experience to impact my education and life. With my passion for understanding urbanism, sociology, and culture in general I was interested in learning the perspective of other countries' cultural experiences and how that impacts their infrastructure and production style. Without much travel experience into other countries, this opportunity was going to have a great impact on how I viewed the world and my own work. The study abroad trip to Italy provided a combination of academic enrichment but also cultural immersion that I was greatly looking forward to.
I was awarded the scholarship which covered over half of my expenses for the trip, now I knew I was going to be able to go. With the Gilman program's help, the idea of studying abroad became more of a reality, and I realized how much I was looking forward to this experience. I began my preparations to set off on my journey!
If you feel like I did, please look out for your options that can expand your academic experience. Reach out to peers, study abroad advisors, Gilman advisors, and even me for how you can get the support you need to make it happen.
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