A day in Positano

Author: Susannah Patton | Majors: Marketing and Finance

My name is Susannah Patton and I am a marketing and finance student with the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas. This Summer, Summer 2022, I studied abroad with CIMBA Italy, a four-week program located in Paderno Del Grappa, Italy. Paderno Del Grappa is a quaint town located at the base of the Italian Alps. I chose this program because I was looking for an experience like no other. I was eager to be fully immersed in Italian culture, and this program thoroughly provided that for me. CIMBA offers many courses, of which I took Global Consumer and Classical Mythology. Global Consumer is taught by University of Arkansas’ own, Dr. Molly Rapert. In this class we learned about the social, economic, and political practices of China, Italy, and Africa. These concepts were then compared to how these climates are in the United States and how each factor affects businesses. This course in particular was not only one of my favorite classes I have ever taken, but it was also extremely beneficial to my education as it broadened my knowledge of things I had not even heard about before. The other course that I took while in Italy was Classical Mythology. In this course we read 4 classic Roman myths and analyzed them each day in class. This course was extremely interesting because although I had no prior knowledge of mythology I walked away from it feeling very educated on the topics and how they even connect to today’s world. For both courses, one afternoon each week we would get to go on a field trip and get to see first-hand the things that we had been discussing in class. On the Global Consumer field trips we got to tour La Ceramica, a ceramics and pottery making facility, Hausbrandt, a coffee manufacturer, and the Ernest Hemingway Museum. For the Classical Mythology field trips we got to visit the Antonio Canova Museum, the Scrovegni Chapel, Villa Barbaro, and Villa Emo. All of these day trips for both classes benefitted me personally and academically because they were extremely interesting to see in-person and gave me a deeper understanding of the things we had been discussing in class each week. Each of these classes also advanced my professional goals because they gave me a deeper education of business practices as well as gave me a more personal connection with each of my professors. These classes differ from classes at the U of A because of how they were formatted to be primarily discussion-based as well as how our field trips were a big part of our learning experience.

While my in-class experiences were unlike any other, the experiences I had outside of class were what topped off my study abroad experience. Each weekend the CIMBA Italy program gave us a 3.5-day weekend, encouraging students to travel. These travel weekends allowed me to experience many places I would have never been able to experience without the opportunities given in this program. The first weekend I spontaneously said yes to joining a random group of students on their trip to Lake Garda. This weekend ended up being one of my favorites because of the beautiful scenery of Lake Garda as well as the friendships I made there. While two of the students attend the University of Iowa and one attends the University of Kansas, I know that these are people that will be in my life forever. The next weekend I traveled to the Amalfi Coast with a great group of girls from the U of A. We flew to Naples and took a train down to Vico Equense, which is where our Airbnb was located. This town had the most amazing views, food, and gelato, so it was a wonderful place to stay. Just within a few days of this weekend we took a boat tour to Capri, spent a day in Positano, and got to visit Pompeii. The next weekend I traveled to Vienna, Austria. While I loved each place I visited in Italy, Vienna might take the cake for my favorite European city. It was so beautiful, full of culture, and very clean. After the program ended my friend and I extended our stay to visit Rome and Florence. This was such a great choice because by the end of my time at study abroad I had visited many places that had been on my bucket list for years. Each travel weekend brought me so many new experiences, life lessons, and fantastic additions to my camera roll.

CIMBA Italy is a program that I do not have a single negative thing to say about. I recommend this program to any student wishing to broaden their horizons and have the experience of a lifetime. CIMBA pushes you to step out of your comfort zone, allowing you to experience all of the things that Europe offers. Something I wish that I knew before studying abroad was to not let the little things impact me. You missed your train? It’s okay, there will be another one and train tickets are cheap. You forgot your favorite shirt? Good thing there is some great shopping in Italy. These are the little things that are not worth dampening your experience over. Another piece of advice that I have for anyone looking to study abroad is simply to do it. The U of A offers phenomenal scholarships that tremendously help out the expenses of this once in a lifetime experience. This summer abroad was unforgettable in so many ways, and I hope that anyone reading this gets to experience the same thing.