Cathy Doherty had the experience many students dream of. She came to Florence and fell in love with a local.
When did you study here?
I studied Photography in the spring of 2017 as a sophomore.
What did you enjoy most about the program?
It’s hard to pick just one thing but something I still rave about to this day was how anything we were learning from our textbooks was right there in our backyard. From the art we read about in Professor Zaloga’s class and going to see it at the Uffizi, to Professor Piombino’s class and speaking to family members of prominent people affected by mob rule during the mafia’s reign in Sicily, it blew my mind how lucky we were to have these experiences in person.
Any particularly vivid memories from that time?
As an art program student I got to live in an apartment with 3 other girls. It was a really beautiful space; my bedroom had big French doors that led to our own garden and the kitchen had a little breakfast nook. I wish I could live there again! I also played on one of the school’s soccer teams, I believe we got second place that semester so it was really fun going to practices and games and having our peers come out to support! Lastly, of course being in Italy, every girl wants the whirlwind experience of cruising through the streets on the back of a Vespa to fulfill our Lizzie McGuire dreams. So on the last night of the program, a bunch of us met in Piazza Savanarola to say our goodbyes. I worked my magic and got a trusted friend of a friend to bring my housemate Annie home on one as I couldn’t let her leave without crossing this off her bucket list, and she and I spent the rest of the night giggling about it in her room and just talking about the past 4 months. This is one of my favorite memories because we hadn’t been close the entire semester- we both thought one of us didn’t like the other! She’s now one of my dear friends so it was just a really sweet way to end the semester.
How did the experience affect your life?
I know everyone says their experience abroad is life changing but it’s true. The foundation that Professor Talini helped me set in my work in Advanced Photography ultimately led to the voice and inspiration for my Thesis my senior year back at Syracuse. And as cliché as it is, l’amore found me in Florence, so I added a couple more Italian language courses at school and found myself back there every summer and winter vacation until 2020 when I ended up living there for almost 3 years with my now husband. We are now both back in the US after 6 years together. I pretty much owe this program for changing the trajectory of my life.
