Maddalena Di Giovanni – Film & Media – Level 3
Southern Connecticut State University, USA
“Travel and Change Impart New Vigour to The Mind”. This quotation was printed on the mug gifted to each new international exchange student during Induction in August 2022 on campus at Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU). It is a quotation from Seneca, the ancient Roman philosopher; following my experience I can confirm that my experience abroad at SCSU has indeed imparted new vigour to my mind, incomparably enhanced my future prospects in the film industry, forged strong industry and friend connections and created a lifetime of memories. Quite simply it has been a life-changing and unparalleled experience. I am immensely grateful to the Lisa Persdotter Simonyi Fund that facilitated my participation in this unique programme, without which it would not have been possible.
My journey to SCSU started almost three years ago, in fact even before I started at QMU, when I was still in high school in Italy and researching which university I wanted to attend. One of the strong attractions about applying to QMU for me were its robust links with a wide range of universities on a global level and its established history of its students studying successfully abroad on exchange programmes. So I knew even before I arrived at QMU that I was aiming to study abroad for a semester. Early in the first semester of Year 2 I contacted Laura Stevenson from the Study Abroad Office in QMU to gather all the information I needed to get started. I began my research and submitted my preferences however my initial three preferred choices of Massachusetts, Canada and Australia weren’t accepted in the first round of place allocations. This was disappointing to start with, however, undeterred and with the encouragement of the Study Abroad Office, I reapplied to other universities and was so pleased and excited that I was accepted at SCSU. Brilliantly located between Boston and New York on the east coast, SCSU offered modules that were quite a good match for my home QMU modules that I was going to be absent for in the first semester, so my proposed SCSU modules were approved by my QMU lecturers following meetings with them.
Once the academic side of things were tied up, then there was the administrative side – no mean feat in itself! The International Office in SCSU were diligent in keeping in regular touch and taking us through step by step the various complex tasks that had to be completed and the various deadlines for all the documents that had to be procured, for example payments for visas, health insurance and accommodation on campus. All potential students studying in the USA have to have a visa interview at an American Consulate to be approved so I arranged for mine at the Consulate in Milan about a month before I departed for America. I had to bring a lot of documentation that had been supplied by SCSU (as my sponsor) and couriered to me while I was still in QMU together with my passport for submission. There were a lot of different threads to coordinate, but apart from the nail-biting wait at home in Italy waiting for the courier to arrive with my approved visa-stamped passport and documents from the Consulate, it was a positive experience. I learned a lot about the administrative side of visiting America and the level of bureaucracy involved which as I had never been outside of Europe before so I had never encountered it before.
I flew the eight hour flight from Milan to New York in August about five days before Induction day in SCSU calculating one day for every hour of time difference to recover fully. The arrival in JFK airport was an experience in itself as I had never been in such a big airport and then of course going through all the different entry procedures such as biometrics and fingerprinting while the border officials checked all my visa and documents. Once through – it was off to New York! Exhausted and excited at the same time I got the train into the centre and staying in budget accommodation I managed to navigate my way on foot quite easily. It was thrilling to be in the midst of the hustle and bustle of New York; the sirens and car horns that never stop in the city that never sleeps. After a couple of days I departed for New Haven in Connecticut, where SCSU is, on a coach journey lasting 1.5 hours. It was fascinating to see the disappearing Manhattan skyline as I departed and new landscapes as I arrived in New Haven. I stayed in New Haven for two nights before moving onto campus and ready to start the semester!
I opted to stay in Halls on Campus at SCSU and unlike what we are used to in Britain, in America you share your bedroom with a room-mate. I was a little apprehensive before I travelled to America regarding whom I was going to be sharing with, but it worked out really well and I formed a strong bond with my room-mate and I know that we will meet again in the future. The lessons were structured a little differently compared to QMU and other UK universities in that we had homework to complete week by week rather than more long term projects that are submitted at the end of the semester which is more UK style. So I had to get used to the different work rhythm but I enjoyed it very much. The most enjoyable part of my learning experience at SCSU was working in state-of-the-art tv studios on campus and learning about all the different parts of the studio set. This is the type of career I want to pursue after I graduate so I was appreciative to gain valuable experience from industry experts. The SCSU lecturers also told us that they appreciate the presence of International students in classes, particularly from Europe, as we have different ideas for Film and it was enriching for everyone to exchange opinions and share our different film-making cultures.
During my semester, together with a group of international students at SCSU I was lucky enough to visit Boston, Niagara Falls and Toronto. However, I regularly travelled to New York multiple times and got to know the city quite well. Each SCSU student had a travel pass enabling us to travel by train for free within the state of Connecticut; this meant we could travel to the state line of Connecticut-New York and just buy a cheap train ticket into New York for the remainder of the journey. My highlight was visiting New York with other international students during Thanksgiving holiday in November and getting up at 4.30am to get a good view to watch the world famous Macy’s Parade which started at 9am. During the same Thanksgiving trip, we also visited Philadelphia and Washington DC this time travelling by coach. Unforgettable memories that I will cherish forever.
I have learned so much from this experience; much more than I had anticipated. Learning to interact with diverse cultures, exchanging opinions, gaining experience in first class studio sets, seeing the world from a different point of view, going out of my comfort zone, making friendships that will last forever and professional connections that hopefully one day in the future will help me with my career goals.
Thank you once again to everyone at the Study Abroad Office at QMU for setting up this exchange for me and to the Lisa Persdotter Simonyi Fund for facilitating my participation. I am truly grateful. It paid for my flights and accommodation on Campus at SCSU. Without this funding I would not have been able to take part on this exchange and I believe that as a result of this experience my career goals are now even closer. I would warmly encourage anyone considering undergoing a study exchange to do so. There’s a lot of work to be done in the months in the run up to departure, but you’ll never look back and it will be something that you will remember for the rest of your life. It’s worth all the effort, you will learn so many skills apart from broadening your academic knowledge and is truly an enriching chapter in your life. I am already looking forward to travelling there again in the future!
Maddalena also features in an article about exchange students at Southern Connecticut State University.
