My name is Claire Dziedzic, and I’m from Rochester, New York. I am a junior at Pitt Business studying Global Management, and I’m currently pursuing the 3+3 program with Pitt Law, where I plan to attend law school after graduating this spring. Back at Pitt I am involved as a member in Women in Law, as well as President of the club lacrosse team. I am interested in pursuing a career in business law in the future, and over the summer I had the opportunity to intern with a Judge in my local courthouse.
This semester I’m participating in the Pitt Global Business Institute program in Firenze, Italy. I am taking classes through CEA CAPA, which is a study abroad and global experience program for students across the US. I chose to study in Firenze because I have never been to Europe, and I felt it would be a good home base for exploring new places. I also really wanted to immerse myself in the Florentine culture and learn Italian. Throughout this experience I hope to step out of my comfort zone and meet new people, try new foods, and see all the places I can across Europe!
I live in a shared apartment with four other girls from Pitt, which has been really fun so far, especially because we didn’t know each other before the program. We live about a 25 minute walk from the city center, where our classes are located, and it is a pretty spacious apartment. The only con is that when we got here, the weather was over 90 degrees every day, and without AC or fans it was definitely an adjustment! Luckily it has cooled down and we have a bunch of fans so now we’re used to it.
I am taking five classes this semester, including the business consulting course which I chose instead of the internship. I’m excited to work with Destination Florence, an information site focused on connecting with study abroad students to help them navigate around the city of Firenze. I am also taking Intro to Italian, and all the Pitt students are together in that class. Because there are only 10 of us we have all gotten to know each other pretty well along with our professor, Jenny. She’s amazing! Before coming here I wasn’t sure what to expect, but my first impressions have been really good and I’m excited for what the semester will bring!
