Sunday July 4th, 2023
Hello everyone! My name is Alex Tidmore, and I will be a junior this upcoming fall at the University of Pittsburgh. I am currently a student within the business school, and I am majoring in Finance, minoring in Economics, and receiving a certificate in Entrepreneurship. On campus, I am involved in many different organizations. Currently in my social fraternity, Pi Kappa Alpha, I am our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility chair. I also just received the position of business manager with the club Sharing Excess. This club has a focus of supplying citizens of the city of Pittsburgh with meals and necessities to survive. Myself, along with the rest of the executive board plan events such as volunteering at local food banks or coordinating with restaurants and grocery stores to access food they would be throwing away and donate to those who need. I am also a general member of Delta Sigma Pi, a professionally business fraternity as well as Panther Equity.
Outside of classes and clubs I enjoy spending my time with friends whether that is trying new restaurants around the city of Pittsburgh or going to play basketball outside. I also like to work out and go to the gym. Some other hobbies I have are golf and watching formula 1 racing.
The program I am participating in is the Global Business Institute (GBI) Florence in Italy. Since this program takes place in the summer, it lasts six weeks (May 18th – July 1st). Out of all the GBI destinations available Florence seemed the most appealing for me. Being in two different fraternities on campus, many upperclassmen who I know have participated in a study abroad experience. I set up times where we discussed the pros and cons of their experiences in many different countries around the globe, and Florence had nothing but pros. As far as goals of this trip, I want to experience as many things as possible I would not be able to in the States. Whether that is sporting events, cuisine, and art I want to experience it all. The most important goal I have is being able to navigate around the city of Florence and communicate in Italian.
My first two weeks of this program have been nothing but exciting. I am currently living outside the city of Florence, so I get to experience the way of life of a local but also still being able to experience the “tourist” locations. I have been able to travel to many different cities within Italy on the weekends with my roommates. We were fortunate to visit Pisa, Monterosso, and San Gimignano. Italy, especially Florence, is extremely beautiful and I cannot wait to keep experiencing!
