News - June 14, 2010

Calling all alumni: What are you doing now?

No, we’re not talking Twitter. SUF wants to know where their alumni are, and what they are doing, professionally, now. To this end SUF has launched a ‘Calling all alumni’ message, posting it to the SUF and Villa Rossa profiles on Facebook.

Says staff member Brenda Cooke, SUF Publications Office, “End-of-the-semester evaluations confirm that a semester abroad impacts on the students’ lives in a positive way. But once students return to the US, settle back into their lives, and begin working, what remains of their experience abroad? We want to know how it continues to influence your career choice and lifestyle: Looking back, what connections do you find between the study abroad experience and your lives today?”

Robin Thomas (1978), a successful interior designer, recently traveled to Italy and stopped by the Villa Rossa. She said, “SUF set me on a path I will follow forever. My four months as a student in Florence were a brief part of my college experience and a small spot of time over the course of my adult life; however, it is those four precious months in Florence that have guided my career and my general outlook on life.”

Alexandra Korey, (1997, and Masters Program, 1999), says, “SUF definitely gave me the "Italy bug" and, 12 years later, I am still here in Florence. I work for the Regione Toscana's social media team as their arts expert, writing the official blog for the arts in Tuscany (arts.allthingstuscany.com) and I promote the arts and travel on the principal social networks like Facebook (www.facebook.com/tuscanyarts) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/tuscanyart).” Korey also affirms that SUF has influenced her life and career through a great network of talented people, and she has featured SUF professors and students in the arts blog, as well as in her personal blog about Italian art and travel, www.arttrav.com.

Christian Sottile (1998), an independent architect working in Savannah, Georgia, recently received a second award for his firm’s project for the Civic Master Plan for the East Riverfront in Savannah. Sottile emphasized, “My time with SUF played a direct role in my career path and is a major reason where I am today. In understanding the connection between Florence and Savannah, I am more convinced than ever that these cities share a delicate relationship across time and space. The exploration with Syracuse, studying in Florence, formed the foundational principles for this new planning in Savannah."   

SUF Professor Dorothea Barrett began the SUF alumni profiles on Facebook in fall 2008, organized by year of attendance. She encourages alumni to send an email, either to info@syr.fi.it, or to dlbarret@syr.fi.it, telling us how your semester abroad affected your professional life afterwards.

So… calling all alumni. Talk to us, stay in touch. Let us know where you are and what you are doing.