Hello everyone, my name is Hailey Latona, and I am abroad in Florence, Italy for the Fall 2025! I am a senior at Pitt majoring in the joint Mathematics-Economics major with a minor in Business. While I have focused on technical, STEM based courses through my coursework, I have always tried to keep a global mindset and perspectives through my extracurriculars. 

To this extent, I have been an active tour guide the past two years in Quo Vadis, the tour guides of the Nationality Rooms, and have been able to polish my public speaking skills and non-technical communication. Off campus, I have also been able to intern with FedEx where I was a First and Last Mile Engineering Intern and improved my Excel skills, and I am now interning with ReQurv, an Italian AI startup where I am helping to develop a financial analysis AI tool. I am excited to continue to explore the growing field of AI and how data analysis fits in, since I hope to pursue this field after graduating. I also hope to work for an international company or potentially live abroad, so a semester abroad with an internship will truly help me determine if I am interested in potentially pursuing positions abroad long term, especially since I only speak English currently. 

Studying through the Pitt in Florence – Semester program is actually my second time abroad–I was able to study in the Czech Republic and Poland during the Summer 2024 in the Comparative Economics in Central Europe program. I wanted to study abroad again and specifically to Italy to immerse myself in a culture I already loved. As a museum and art lover, I couldn’t think of a better place than Florence, which is frequently called an “open area museum” due to so many frescos and sculptures on every block. My favorite part though has been how colorful the city is due to all the orange terracotta and green spaces.

My biggest goals of the semester are to really try immersing myself in the culture, both professionally and socially, learn and improve my Italian, and hopefully eat a lot of delicious food! This lunch was fantastic! The salty ham, artichoke, and a pesto balanced perfectly with a sweet blueberry juice.

Since I am in a Pitt program, the courses are similar to my experiences in Oakland, but by being in a different city, I have new sights to walk by each day on my way to class. I have about a 30-35 minute commute to my courses, but each day I get to walk by the Duomo. When I see the colorful marble and all the tour groups, I know I am only about 5 minutes away from the classroom!

I am in a small neighborhood in an apartment with two other Pitt roommates. Some of the biggest perks about living in this community is a daily farmer’s market to get extremely fresh produce, and a grocery store I can see outside my window. I also love this area because I am close to different parks where I can escape into nature, especially when I miss Schenley Park. Although I am in a new place and can’t speak the language well, I find all the walking I’m doing, the one-way streets, and the public transportation to be extremely similar to what I am used to at home, and these similarities have helped me fight off a lot of homesickness. 

I’m just getting started, and I am excited to continue to explore this new city!