OMA&D adviser and Rome Program alumna Annabel Cholico relives her study abroad experience through the eyes of her students.
The first time Annabel Cholico, ’08, stepped off of a plane, she felt like she was in an Italian movie. It was 2007, and Annabel, a junior Law, Societies &聽Justice major, was on her way to the 91探花Rome Center for a 10-day trip that would change her outlook on learning and life.
鈥淚 remember as we were driving down the cobblestone roads [from the airport] I would turn back just to see the road behind me. Everything about it fascinated me,鈥� she says. 鈥淩ome I had only seen and heard of in the movies, in books, it wasn鈥檛 something that I thought that I would be able to experience. It just felt like I was a character in books that I had read.鈥�
A first-generation Latina student from Yakima, WA, Annabel is an alumna of the Rome Academic Enrichment Program sponsored by the Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity (OMA&D). Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, the program began as a partnership between the Department of Classics, 91探花Rome Center and OMA&D. James Clauss, professor of classics, initiated the program in 1995.
鈥淏ecause the 91探花had the Rome Center, I saw an opportunity to introduce OMA&D students directly to Rome itself,鈥� . 鈥淭here arose a greater sense of curiosity and a realization that there was so much more to learn about the world around us.鈥�
Having a 91探花home base in Rome鈥檚 聽Campo di Fiori was very meaningful to Annabel鈥檚 experience. 鈥淭he Rome Center and the place where students live has a bigger impact on them because they鈥檙e placed in this plaza where they can see life happening before them.鈥�
Over the past two decades, more than 200 91探花students have participated聽in the OMA&D Rome program. Ten days spent in Rome over spring break gives the students an opportunity to live through Roman history, visiting historical sites and engaging in stimulating discussion with experts and fellow students. 鈥淓very day was very structured, but enjoyable,鈥� Annabel says. 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e abroad, it鈥檚 not a burden to wake up and go learn.鈥�
For Annabel,the time spent together with her OMA&D Rome cohort was 鈥渁 very diverse and rich experience for all of us. We all looked and sounded different,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t was great to learn about each others鈥� cultures while you鈥檙e in a place that isn鈥檛 really attached to any of us.鈥� The relationships she formed are lasting; Annabel is still in close contact with several members of her cohort, some now as far flung as Dubai. 鈥淚ts great to see us now, years later, and see what that experience abroad did for us,鈥� she says.
The OMA&D Rome program engages students who otherwise might not have a leading-edge experience abroad without financial burden. Before her junior year, Annabel had not even dreamed of studying beyond the bounds of campus. 鈥淚 had never thought about study abroad because I couldn鈥檛 afford it,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 was on scholarships and grants and I wasn鈥檛 willing to take a loan to go abroad because I really didn鈥檛 know what it meant and what the experience would be like, or if it was worth it.鈥�
But once in Rome, Annabel鈥檚 drive to discover was ignited. Within six months of returning to Seattle, she was on her way to explore not only another country, but another continent. 鈥淚 went to Rome in March, and by August, I was applying to an exploration seminar [in South Africa],鈥� she says. 鈥淸The Rome Program] definitely opened the door of curiosity, wanting to learn more outside the box. That鈥檚 what it does for our students.鈥�
Annabel was nominated to participate in the program in 2007 by her OMA&D adviser, Raul Anaya. Today, she sits two doors down from him, counseling her own students. Annabel earned her master鈥檚 in education policy from UW. When an academic counseling聽position at OMA&D opened she was thrilled. 鈥淚 am in the perfect place because I鈥檓 a product of this office, I鈥檓 a product of all the programs I experienced, like Experience Rome,鈥� she says.
Now Annabel counsels students who are embarking on their own trips to Rome, including a student who just returned. 鈥淲e talked about what her learning experience would be like, what would spark within her. I told her, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e going to come back and you’re probably going to feel like you were in a movie,鈥� 聽Annabel says. 鈥淪he came back and she said, 鈥楢nnabel, it was everything you said it was going to be! It was just amazing!鈥� I love it when I see the student experience it for the first time.鈥�
The OMA&D Rome program helps students discover what drives them. 鈥淗ad I not taken that experience as a student, I don鈥檛 know how long it would have taken me,鈥� Annabel 聽says. 鈥淚ts something great to see my students experiencing that now. I can鈥檛 imagine not having that program.鈥�
Annabel鈥檚 Husky Experience 聽has come full circle. 鈥淚 am a mirror of the students that I work with now, under-represented, first-generation, low-income,鈥� she says. 鈥淲hen I see students from the same background, they may be timid or a little afraid of taking the study abroad route. But when they do they come back [they have] that same look in their face I remember I must have had, where its like, 鈥楾his is the real world!鈥� The University and this program supported me in experiencing that.鈥�
— Indra Ekmanis,