Nicole O’Toole
2013 Study Abroad Essay Contest
Rome Program – Fall 2012
1 November 2013
The Four Pillars
Saint Mary’s College prides itself in creating a woman who can find her place in the
world, and how she can better the world. Having never been out of North America, I
ventured to study abroad in Rome for three and a half months, in order to attempt to learn
more about myself. Little did I know that my semester in Italy would not only help my “find
myself” but live out the Saint Mary’s College mission statement and learn more about
myself, my peers, my faith, and the world around me.
Saint Mary’s has a very powerful mission statement, and it was not until I decided to
completely immerse myself in another culture, that I was truly able to grasp the
importance of the mission of Saint Mary’s. The mission statement reads: “Saint Mary’s
College is a Catholic, residential, women’s college in the liberal arts tradition. A pioneer in
the education of women, the College is an academic community where women develop
their talents and prepare to make a difference in the world. Founded by the Sisters of the
Holy Cross in 1844, Saint Mary’s promotes a life of intellectual vigor, aesthetic appreciation,
religious sensibility, and social responsibility. All members of the College remain faithful to
this mission and continually assess their response to the complex needs and challenges of
the contemporary world.”
By immersing myself in the Italian culture and language for a semester, I not only
gained an incredible learning experience, but I feel I really tested my intellectual vigor. It
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taught me patience, knowing that nothing but practice could further my Italian speaking
skills. It also taught me to sit back and enjoy where I was in life. The Italian culture is much
more laid back, time is less tangible, and people seem happier. While hiking mountains in
Assisi, swimming in the Blue Grotto in Capri, and seeing the view of Rome from the top of
the cupola of Saint Peter’s Cathedral, the air seemed fresher and the sights seemed more
beautiful than ever before. Italians have a spark in their eyes, and are always happily
yelling “Ciao!” to each other on the street corners. I think immersing myself in this spiritlifting culture for three months really taught me a lot about myself, and I think I enjoy the
little things in life just a little bit more now.
Traveling abroad taught me responsibility such as useful organizational skills.
Having to comprehend that our flight from Munich back to Rome had changed gates within
ten minutes of departure time, then sprinting across the Munich airport to catch our flight
was just one of the stressful stories that happened while travelling abroad. None of the five
Americans I was travelling with spoke a word of German, and we had a very hard time
trying to communicate with the people in the airport to figure out where we had to go. But
we sprinted across the airport carrying our Hofbra Haus souvenir mugs using the best
hand signals we could muster and made it to our flight on time. Traveling in foreign
countries taught me to be organized, prepared, and ready for anything, which I think is a
skill I can take with me to any law school or post-graduation career I choose. This personal
responsibility has affected my social responsibility because now when I see a visitor to our
country in need, I do everything I can to help make sure they know where they are, what
they are doing, and where they are going. The kindness of strangers while I was abroad
really changed my outlook on how I treat strangers, American and not, back at home.
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My aesthetic appreciation drastically changed during my time abroad. Before going
abroad, I was the one who would zip through a museum in twenty minutes so I could sit
outside alone and relax. I had now appreciation for the lives and cultures that surrounded
me. Rome definitely changed that for me. Every corner I turned while in Europe opened up
a new history book full of stories and cultures of foreign countries. I got to see and learn
about tragedies such as where Caesar was stabbed in Rome, where Marie Antoinette was
beheaded in Paris, and where thousands of Holocaust victims were killed in the Dachau
Concentration Camp. I was also able to see beautiful things like the Eiffel Tower which was
created for the World’s Fair, many beautiful churches in Italy, and the Park Guell in
Barcelona, painted with beautiful, vibrant colors. The years of history classes I took
learning about European countries finally came to life in a beautiful storybook that became
my oyster for the semester.
I also gained enormous religious sensibility while abroad. I have always been a
moderately devout Catholic. I went to church as often as I could and I prayed for those in
need. While I was abroad, however, I learned so much about my Catholic faith while
studying in Rome. Sitting through mass at the Vatican with the Pope, I had a religious
awakening. Suddenly I wanted to explore every Church in Rome, and in all of the other
cities I visited. I was going to mass twice a week and meeting with the Deacons in our
program to explore Churches and talk about God’s love and creation one or two evenings a
week. I loved learning more and more about Saints who had visited places I went to in Italy,
and learning about their feast days and passions as a human. I participated in the act of
Confession for the first time in eight years, and have continued to explore my Catholic faith
more even back at Saint Mary’s. Studying in Rome and being re-taught the foundations of
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Catholicism had a greater impact on me than I could have ever imagined. I came back a
changed woman, ready to take on the world more sure of my faith, and wanting to help
those in need.
I am very fortunate enough to have been able to study abroad in Rome and I think
my unique experience abroad really sets me apart from other students because I use all of
the knowledge and valuable life skills I learned in Europe everyday back in the United
States. I plan on going to law school after I graduate and I think that I will be greatly
qualified to assess the responses of myself and my peers’ to the complex needs and
challenges of the contemporary world. Now that I know where I come from, I think I can
understand how I can leave my imprint on the world. Through my time abroad, I realized
how thankful I am for all of the opportunities we have as Americans, and I better appreciate
everything I have learned at Saint Mary’s College. I truly believe that one way or another,
Saint Mary’s creates powerful women who are ready to take on the twenty-first century
both with vigor and with kindness in their hearts.
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