Since returning from her semester in Madrid, Spain, Talia St. Angelo 鈥�25 has served as a global ambassador for Syracuse Abroad, helping other students learn more about studying overseas.
When Talia St. Angelo 鈥�25 heard she could start her semester learning to scuba dive while studying ecosystems in the Mediterranean Sea, she was sold. She applied right away to spend a semester studying at the
The marine ecology seminar is an award-winning, 10-day course that introduces students to coastal and marine ecosystems and a range of marine management practices along the Mediterranean coast. Although the course did not directly connect to St. Angelo鈥檚 majors鈥�marketing and finance in the 鈥攖o her, it represented the main reason she wanted to study abroad: to expand her horizons and global perspective, take advantage of unique learning opportunities and challenge herself. 鈥淭he marine ecology course was a perfect way to start my semester abroad because I didn鈥檛 know what to expect. It was an opportunity to push myself outside of my comfort zone,鈥� she says.
St. Angelo鈥檚 willingness to try new things proved incredibly rewarding, she says. 鈥淚t was an amazing experience! We learned about the ecology of the Mediterranean Sea, we got to explore different coastal communities, we went paddle boarding, snorkeling鈥攁nd the whole time we鈥檙e also learning how to navigate Europe and getting to know each other,鈥� she explains. 鈥淎t the start of the semester, I didn鈥檛 know most of the students in the Madrid program. Now, back on campus, they鈥檙e all my best friends!鈥�
On-the-Ground Learning
For St. Angelo, one of the highlights of study abroad was a marine ecology course focused on the biodiversity, conservation and communities of the Mediterranean coast.
St. Angelo relished a range of other courses that also grounded her classroom learning in field experiences in Madrid and other parts of Spain. She particularly enjoyed a course that helped her appreciate how cultural context influences marketing. 鈥淚t was a critical thinking course and very hands-on and creative. We studied certain Spanish advertising campaigns and then reimagined them for American audiences,鈥� she says.
She took an art history course that included nearly a dozen fieldtrips to regional museums. 鈥淔irst, we鈥檇 study Baroque and Romanesque architectures and paintings in class, and then we鈥檇 go and actually see the pieces we鈥檇 just been talking about,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 learned so much about Spanish and world history鈥攊t was amazing.鈥�
St. Angelo chose to during her time in Madrid. This, she says, provided an extraordinary opportunity to be immersed in Spanish language and culture.
Transformative Impact
Through field trips with her art history class, St. Angelo saw in person the works they studied. 鈥淚 learned so much about Spanish and world history,鈥� she says.
St. Angelo says her semester abroad has changed what she鈥檚 looking forward to in her senior year and beyond. For one, she has added being a to her busy schedule of academics, club sports and student organizations. And, she enjoys practicing her much-improved Spanish with her friends from the Madrid program.
But the most formative impact, she says, has been a perspective shift: an expansion of what she can imagine as possible. St. Angelo, a native of Rhode Island, says she used to assume she鈥檇 stay close to home when starting her career, but her experience abroad has shown her she can explore, and thrive, farther away as well. 鈥淚 know I want to go into marketing and finance after I graduate鈥攃reative business has always been my plan鈥攂ut living overseas has definitely made me more open to branching out and trying different things,鈥� she says鈥攁dding that her summer internship, with the brokerage company Ryan Turner Specialty, will have her working in both Boston and New York City. 鈥淚 brought back with me a mindset of being positive and really open鈥攊t really did broaden my horizons.鈥�
