Hello everyone! My name is Sydney Mills and I am a rising sophomore studying Industrial and Systems Engineering. I had the opportunity to study abroad in Florence, Italy for the summer mini term. I took IE 493, Applied Human Factors and Art. Our group of 10 included many different engineering disciplines. We had three weeks in Italy, but it was a great opportunity to learn and experience a new country.

The class was structured so we were able to go to several museums, churches, and businesses during the day, and do reflections of the day in the evening. We had wonderful guides that helped us understand and learn many things about all the places we were able to visit. We learned about history, art, architecture, and how these things have changed over time. The museums we went into housed many famous paintings and statues. We were able to see Michelangelo’s “David” as well as Leonardo da Vinci’s “Annunciation”. It is incredible to see all these works and learn about how they were created during their time period. We were also able to spend a few days in Rome to learn about the art and history there. We were able to see the famous paintings in the Sistine Chapel and walk on the Roman Forum grounds. During our 3 weeks we learned so much about artists and their backgrounds and how that contributed to their pieces of art and the history of the cities.

We were very fortunate to have the weekends free which allowed us to be able to travel to many spots in Italy. I was able to go to Pisa, Lucca, two towns in Cinque Terre, and Venice. These opportunities were amazing because we learned how to use the trains and public transport and experience different areas of Italy.