Reflecting on my ISP experience
When thinking of my time here at the University of Florida, the international experience has continued to be the backbone of my academic career. I came to this institution as a criminology major with a minor in Italian, intending to join the FBI or some form of governmental work with an international policy focus. My major changed, yielding environmental science, yet I still retained my passion for the Italian language as well as the international environmental policy perspective. I changed career goals, aiming for law school with the intent of international environmental law. I have never lost the importance of the international perspective, finding innovation, creativity, and hope within the policies and laws of other countries that I wish to reflect in my career in America.
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Learning Italian at the age of 18 was quite challenging, but was one of the greatest experiences I had in academia. I stepped out of my comfort zone, continually embarrassing myself and stumbling over my words, but I am happy to say it was not in vain. I am not afraid to be wrong, I am not afraid to be corrected, and I am so very grateful for the ability to unite cultures with my words. I can experience an entirely different world, full of music, food, films, dances, and love.
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My study abroad experience is something I bring up any time I can to my peers. Living independently in a foreign country helped me grow as an individual: I became more confident in myself and more aware of my career intentions. My parents speak of this transformative experience often as well, highlighting the fact that I 'came back as a new and improved Corinne'. I made international friends, teaching them English as they corrected my Italian grammar. I snorkeled in the Mediterranean with my marine biology class, learning the differences in environmental policy regulation here and hoping to help enforce more protective laws in America as well. I walked the streets of Ancient Rome, basking under the same sun that numerous philosophers we cherish once did. I hiked Mt. Vesuvius, the volatile nature of the volcano was both thrilling and terrifying. As I departed Sorrento for good, the Vesuvius was the last thing I saw, and the one thing I wish I could see again.
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Back at UF, I experienced numerous campus engagement events, all with international environmental focuses. I loved seeing that some of my peers and colleagues had the same interests as me and that I would not be alone in my battle towards a better world through environmental law. I learned about the interconnections between science and the law in Norway, Humanitarian assistance, and Indigenous rights, and legal privileges in Brazil. These seminars and talks through the international scholars program highlighted how critical it is to use international perspectives in policy, laws, and regulations to find sustainable solutions.
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Overall, I am eternally grateful for the experience of the international scholars program. I learned a new language, explored a new country, and gained valuable knowledge for my career and personal life. I will step into law school armed with confidence that I can better this world, and unafraid of the potential challenges that may come.
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Signing off,
Corinne
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