Blissfully paragliding over Lake Luzern

Author: Ella Boston | Major: Nursing | Semester: Fall 2022

I crave adventure. Adventure opens the door to experiences which challenge my strengths and weakness. Adventure widens my perception of the world. Adventure teaches me to learn from those around me, understand their story and grow in empathy and gratitude. Through the generosity of the Honors College, I was fortunate to pursue my first international adventure, studying Nursing abroad in Rome, Italy.

An excellent nurse has a strong character, is wise and pours out compassion. Studying abroad provided me the opportunity to pursue this excellence by challenging me to grow and reach new levels of depth. The nursing curriculum centered on classroom and skilled based learning, alongside clinical rotations at Gemelli hospital. The small cohort of students made for a close-knit connection between faculty and the students. This is valuable for nursing students, because it fosters a positive environment to ask questions and build connections between content and application. Furthermore, the opportunity to complete clinical hours at Gemelli was an incredible experience. This experience fostered professionalism. Given the language barrier, we carried the personal responsibility to initiate conversation in Italian, to learn and hone our observation skills and to express our gratitude for the chance to learn from them. Clinical’s at Gemelli reinforced my belief that growth is a choice; fear of failure or embarrassment from stuttering through limited Italian would stand in the way of the incredible opportunity available for us to learn. I worked in the rehabilitation ICU and neurological/cardiovascular ICU; in addition, I was able to watch two open-heart surgeries, where the surgeon walked me through step-by-step as he performed the surgery. The word that comes to mind when I reflect on this academic semester is flexible. Meaning, growth comes from positioning yourself to accept a change in routine, being able to adapt to the cultural differences between Italian and United States healthcare and being comfortable with temporary discomfort.

Referring back to the goal of striving towards excellence, I believe that excellence is achieved through an awareness of one’s own strengths and weakness’. Studying abroad provided me the opportunity to increase my cultural and language deficits, by placing me in an environment to meet new people every day. Two moments stick out to me clearly. The second weekend in Italy, a group of friends and I traveled to Sardinia, an island of the coast of Italy. We checked into our Airbnb, enjoyed the beautiful sunset and set off to explore the warm, summer night. In the distance, we heard music and singing; intrigued, we followed the music and peered down into a courtyard encapsulated with flowers and sparkling lights. A speaker played Italian swing jazz and couples danced in the plaza, bright smiles plastered on their face. We sat on the steps in awe. Moments later, a few of the locals gestured for us to join in; we walked down the steps and followed their lead. We smiled, our dresses spun, our feet danced to the music and we laughed with joy. Despite the language barrier, the dancing and music spoke for themself. A few weeks later, I traveled to Switzerland on a solo-trip. I was enamored by the beauty of the Swiss countryside. This was a weekend of firsts. Shortly after I arrived, I went paragliding over Lake Luzern. The next morning I completed the Cirque Series trail race, which started in Engelberg valley and climbed into the Titlis mountains. 15km may not seem like a long distance, but with a cumulative elevation gain of 2000m across rugged mountain terrain, I can tell you this was no small feat for my untrained body. Though I lift weights and enjoy road running, I had zero mountain-trail running experience. The race was grueling and a powerful mental challenge. Each step I took reminded me that I was capable of moving forward; I was forced to be fully present in the moment. Thinking two minutes ahead would cause my mind and body to overwhelmed by the distance and altitude still ahead of me. In many ways, this race was a metaphor for how to approach the study abroad experience and life, in general. Succumbing to the present discomfort would blind me from the current opportunities for me to learn; meaningful motion forward is achieved by adapting to stress and not viewing the temporary discomfort as suffering, but a chance to grow.

In essence, the past five months have been dense. Dense meaning rich with emotional highs and emotional lows, opportunities to learn and experiences to challenge my perspective. No matter the professional or academic pursuit, studying abroad is valuable, because it magnifies personal growth. Studying abroad is an incredible opportunity to challenge yourself through positive stress, build self-efficacy and to increase confidence in your ability to be present. Rome, known as “The Eternal City,” continues to stand despite hardship and less than favorable circumstance. Rome stands as an example of what we are capable of. We are capable of overcoming adversity. We are capable of endurance. We are capable of resilience. Challenge yourself and seek out the opportunity to study abroad. Most importantly, thank you to the Honor’s College for providing me with the resources to pursue this opportunity.