In March 2020, students studying abroad at Temple University’s Rome, Italy campus (Temple Rome) were sent home due to the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak in the country. Little did they know, they would be the last Temple students at Temple Rome for almost an entire year.
After a full academic year of not sending students abroad, Italy reopened its borders to those with student visas just in time for the Spring 2021 semester. That is, students heading to Temple Rome would have the rare opportunity to not only study abroad, but study abroad in a once-crowded city without any of its usual tourists.
One of these lucky students was Senior Communication Studies Major and Education Abroad Peer Advisor Julie Kim (she/her). Kim always knew she wanted to study abroad and knew that she wanted to do it in the spring semester of her junior year. Even though everyone told her it likely wouldn’t happen due to the pandemic, she held onto hope until her dream came true.
“Growth. That is my word for Rome,” Kim said. “Everything that I went through studying abroad, yeah there were a lot of challenges, but at the same time I would do it all again in a heartbeat.”
Even though for most of her time in Rome she wasn’t allowed to move between regions in Italy or outside of the country, Kim still loved every part of her experience. While Main Campus was holding classes mostly online, Rome classes were held in-person for most of the semester. One such course was Travel Writing, a course that she is glad she got to take while actually traveling.
“What’s really encouraging is how committed Temple Rome is to hosting students,” said Temple Rome Program Manager Rosie Carlson (she/her).
Kim, who is just under 4’ 11”, enjoyed that the lack of tourists meant that she would literally be able to see more than she would have if the city had been more crowded. And, during finals week, the borders between regions did open and she was able to go to Venice, Florence and the Amalfi Coast, her favorite destination of all.
Kim is grateful to the lenient professors who allowed their students to take their finals early so they could go out and explore the rest of Italy. She is also grateful to her Klein College of Media and Communication advisors back on Main Campus who were supportive of her commitment to studying abroad.
Temple students were also able to go to Temple Rome in Summer and Fall 2021, and students such as Senior Journalism Major Ingrid Slater (she/her) are there right now.
“There’s been a lot of ups and downs, a lot of changes to how we’re able to send students abroad,” Carlson said. Currently, Temple Rome students can travel to other regions in Italy as long as the region doesn’t have more than a certain number of COVID-19 cases.
“The students who decided to stay, they’re really committed to being in Italy and they’re really committed to the program,” Carlson said. “They’ve been able to see nooks and crannies of Italy that other students haven’t been able to see.”
Slater, like Kim, doesn't feel too restricted by not being able to travel outside of the country and is grateful to be able to go to places like Florence, Venice and Milan, and is also taking Travel Writing.
“It’s been really wonderful since we landed,” Slater said. She felt especially relieved to land, she said, because her flight from the United States took off during Hurricane Ida. Slater is enjoying the chance to be in a smaller school environment than Main Campus and compared it to freshman year because she is meeting so many new people and experiencing many things for the first time.
Unlike Kim, however, Slater did not always plan to study abroad in Rome. She was supposed to go to Temple University Japan in Spring 2021 but deferred, and the Japanese government is not currently allowing visitors. Still determined to go abroad in any way she could, Slater, with the help of Carlson, pursued the Temple Rome program.
“It’s just been a really seamless process,” Slater said. Though she was scared to leave her support system and her plans changed, Slater is very happy in Rome. “Everything I’ve experienced has greatly outweighed the negative emotions that I was feeling,” she said.
Carlson is proud of students like Kim and Slater that didn’t give up on their desire to study abroad and is excited to send more students to Temple Rome in the Spring 2022 semester. “It looks like, with all fingers crossed, things are on a positive trajectory,” Carlson said.
Kim and Slater both encourage students to take advantage of the opportunities that studying abroad presents. Kim’s number one tip for those that are interested is to start the process early, and Slater wants everyone to know that even if you’re scared or feel like there isn’t a place for you abroad, there is, and you should go for it.