During the Fall 23 semester, Syracuse student Qianzhen Li was assigned to take photographs of the student experience at the Syracuse Abroad center in Florence. Read more about Li and his photography internship at the home campus in this article on the Syracuse University website.
Please explain what this project entailed and how it came about.
I intern for the Syracuse University Marketing and Communication department’s photo team. The internship calls for photographing various student life events and experiences. Since I was spending my semester in Florence, my supervisor thought it would be nice for me to capture some aspects of student life experiences there. So they equipped me with a camera and there I was.
Tell us a little about yourself.
I am a fourth-year architecture student at Syracuse with a lot of interests for creativity. Painting, film, photography are all passions of mine. I am very lucky to have found this opportunity to share some of my experiences in Florence through photography.
How did doing this project affect your semester abroad?
This project allowed me to partake and witness experiences that I otherwise would not have the opportunity to. For instance, the hike through the Tuscany countryside, in Monteriggioni [part of the Syracuse Florence iExplore field trip program]. Not only was the weather beautiful for some landscape photography, but the company we kept on the trip was amazing. I was excited to learn so many things about the Tuscan stones we walked past.
What do you hope people take away from your photos?
It was my first time in Italy, and I think it is very easy to get overwhelmed by all the possibilities in a city like Florence, with all the things to look at and all the things to experience. And through my lens I wanted to share some snapshots of my experiences in Italy and tell those that are thinking about going abroad that no matter what you do, it would be a fantastic time.
