The University of New Haven has a first year abroad program for incoming freshmen. This is different from most schools because first-year students typically have to wait until their second semester to study abroad. There are currently four freshmen who are studying abroad in Italy this semester.

Peyton Iott, a business major, said she has always wanted to travel and this was her opportunity to do so while attending her first college classes.

Iott said, “I was a little nervous going into this at first not knowing anyone, but I knew I was going to meet people with the same interest in traveling that I was more excited than nervous.”

Sending your kids off to college is difficult for many parents, but sending them off to the other side of the world for college for the first time is different. Iott said her mother was concerned about her safety in Europe, but her mother has been reassured by the positive experiences Iott has had in Italy.

Iott said her parents ““want me to get as many life changing experiences as possible, so they pushed me to go abroad from the start.”

Iott has traveled outside of Italy almost every weekend she’s been there. Her favorite places, she said, are Ukraine and France.
Iott said that studying abroad has been a life-changing experience and that the program has gone above and beyond anything she could have ever wanted.

“The staff here are beyond wonderful, I’ve made so many friends, and the sights are just breathtaking,” she said. “This is one of those moments in time where I know I’m going to look back on 30 years from now and think about how lucky I was to have this opportunity. Don’t be afraid to jump at these experiences.”

The first-year study abroad university website says that, “Many students enter college wanting to study abroad but less than 10% actually do because they get busy with obligations on campus or it becomes challenging for some upperclassmen to find the courses they need abroad.”