The villa in Tivoli, where the Rome Center took us on a day trip

My name is Hallie Stiff, an architecture student at the Fay Jones school at the University of Arkansas. I studied abroad in Rome, Italy during the Spring semester in 2025. I have always been interested in visiting Europe for so many reasons, including history, accessibility to other countries, and of course beautiful architecture. As an architecture major and history of architecture and design minor, this trip was a key component to rounding out my education. As much as I love Arkansas, the architecture here does not compare to the ancient monuments across Europe. I was there during the entire Spring semester, so by the time I was leaving the city really felt like home. While there, I was able to travel to several cities and countries, including France, Greece, Switzerland, Poland, Hungary, and Turkey. I was able to stay an extra week after the semester ended, and spend time in Verona, Italy with some of my friends before we all went our separate ways.

While enrolled at the Rome Center, I took a variety of classes, both architectural and not. One of my favorite classes was called architecture of the city, where my class and I were led around Rome by our professor. We were tasked with sketching major architectural landmarks, streets, and more. It not only improved my drawing skills, but also my knowledge about the city and its architecture. Another class called To Rome with Love educated me on language, culture, and history surrounding Rome and Italy as a whole. We were able to take a cooking class and go to different museums in this course. I loved it, and it made me feel more comfortable around Italy.

I was able to visit Venice with my studio, where we saw the Venice Biennale architecture exhibitions being set up during the weekend of Carnivale. This was one of my favorite trips while I was there. We met with art curators in Venice and saw the beautiful city. Following this, we saw the Dolomites and visited a timber mill where we were able to present our architectural proposals and get feedback while learning about European timber construction.

Something I should mention is how easy it is to get around to other countries / cities without a car. Plane tickets are dirt cheap, but there are also options by train, bus, or even ferry. This made weekends a blast, where my friends and I would pack a small bag and head to experience another culture just a couple hours away. The Rome Center did a wonderful job of taking us to places not far from Rome, such as smaller towns that are harder to access with public transit. One of the photos I included is from a medieval town called Tivoli where they took us on a tour. It was incredible! The history, architecture, and quaint small town made for a perfect day trip outside of the city.

I think I became very brave this way, by tackling language barriers, experiencing other cultures, and traveling by myself way more than ever before. It taught me to be aware of my surroundings, but also to be outgoing and meet people from all types of backgrounds. There is a certain type of fear that comes from walking into a restaurant or other public area in a new place, not knowing what they serve, what language they might speak, or who else is in there. It made me confident in myself, amazed at what I am capable of despite being anxious about a lot of things. This trip was life-changing; I cannot recommend it enough.