Hi, my name is Kendyl Crosby, and I just finished my sophomore year in Pitt Business. I’m majoring in Marketing and Supply Chain Management. After college, I plan on getting a job in medical device sales. I am from Greensburg, Pennsylvania, which is about 40 minutes away from campus. At Pitt, I am involved in Sports Business Association. 

The program that I picked for my study abroad trip was the 6-week GBI Florence program. This program was the most intriguing to me for many different reasons. My brother studied abroad in Rome, and ever since I visited him during his stay, I have been dying to study abroad and to come back to Italy. Another reason I picked this program in specific was because of the city of Florence. I like visiting big cities, but I didn’t want to live in a tourist hot spot for 6 weeks. Don’t get me wrong, Florence is a big tourist spot, but it feels like a “normal” town when you’re not at the few tourist attractions in the city. I decided to pick the 6 week summer program, as I feel that it was the best fit for me. Before coming here, I didn’t think that I would be able to do a whole semester in another country. However, these two weeks flew by in a blink of an eye, and I am already dreading my return home. I also liked the idea of a light coursework. I am enrolled in only two classes; Analyzing and Exploring the Global City: Florence, and beginner composition drawing. Analyzing and Exploring the Global City teaches us the history of Florence that I never would have taken the time to learn on my own. At the end of every class, we are taken to “hidden” spots in the city that I would otherwise walk past without knowing the amount of history that they contain. Having only two classes will allow more time to explore the city that I am living in, and other countries around me. 

I have many goals for myself that I would like to achieve during my time in Florence. I hope to completely emerge myself in the culture in order to understand what it’s like to be a Florentine. Not only am I excited to emerge myself in Italian culture, I also have plans of traveling to other countries and seeing how different European cultures are in themselves. As someone who is a very picky eater, I am excited to be forced to change my food palate around and have some amazing Italian food while I’m here. I am also hoping to step out of my comfort zone a lot. I fear heights but booked a skydiving trip in Switzerland, so I guess I am already on the path to achieving this goal! I am so excited and thankful to be given this opportunity, and I can’t wait to see everything that I accomplish and learn in and outside of the classroom!