My name is Charlee Doyle, and I am a 2nd year student at Penn State studying abroad with ISI Spring 2025. I joined the Global Leadership Program because at Penn State, I am involved in other leadership organizations that I love, and I wanted to bring that experience abroad with me. Since being in the Global Leadership Program, I believe it definitely enriched my experience in Italy, as I was challenged to immerse myself in the culture in a new way. I got to try authentic Florentine recipes at home, visit new places in Italy like the Galleria dell’Accademia, I got to be a part of The Big Event, and I even joined a pasta-making class that I later took my family to! The networking was also great as I connected with other Penn State students who were involved with the program, and we shared what we learned about Italy so we could adjust to being abroad together. If I were to study abroad again, I would definitely do the GLP because it was fun, immersive, and overall a great way to be involved while studying in a new country!

My favorite part of being in the GLP was The Big Event. It was so awesome cleaning a local park with fellow study abroad students and seeing visible improvement as we cleaned. We also got to speak to local Italians who were curious about the event, and some even thanked us for our efforts. That was a great moment for us, as the goal was to give back to a community that welcomed us. Overall, studying abroad was amazing as I took the time to travel and really experience a wide range of European cultures, an opportunity I would have never gotten had I not accepted the offer to go abroad. As advice to future study abroad students, I suggest getting used to saying “yes” and stepping out of your comfort zone more. If you can, say yes to trying new food, say yes to traveling, say yes to dinner plans with roommates, and really get involved yourself and enjoy where you are to get the most out of it.