In May 2024, I was fortunate enough to study abroad as a participant on the UGA Cortona program. During my time in Cortona, I took courses in biochemistry and art history. The biochemistry course challenged me through engaging conversations and presentations on infectious diseases and cancer, and their respective biochemical mechanisms in the body. I greatly enjoyed learning from the UGA faculty who traveled with us to teach the course, as I would not have had the opportunity to take their classes through my traditional degree path without study abroad. 

My art history course fully embodied UGA’s mission of experiential learning, as it centered on weekend trips to Rome, Florence, and Siena and visits to various sites in each city. My favorite painting I saw was in the Vatican Museum, Wenzel Peter’s Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Architecturally, the Pantheon, Colosseum, and Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore all tie for my favorite! I also loved the countless memories that I made during these site visits. I will never forget the two greatest “accidental” but jaw-dropping experiences: seeing and being blessed by Pope Francis, and being granted special access to Sant’Ignazio of Loyola Church at 1 am!

All in all, every conversation, course lecture, shared meal, tour, and even minor experience while abroad furthered my role as a lifelong learner in both academia and culture. This role is synonymous with my role as a culturally competent clinician.