Sept. 22, 2009
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PHILADELPHIA - Senior Erica Goldman, a member of the La Salle field hockey team, had already traveled the world as a teenager, visiting Argentina, Russia, France, Mexico, Canada, and Puerto Rico all before arriving at 20th and Olney four years ago. That didn't stop her from spending last spring in Italy at the American University of Rome through La Salle's study abroad program.
The semester-long stay in Rome was not her first trip to the historic city. She spent a few days there as a high school student during the summer and was not impressed.
"I knew I wanted to go to Europe to study abroad, but I didn't really like Rome the first time I went," Goldman said. "It was a big city and I was only there a few days during an especially hot summer."
Her opinion has changed after spending four months there.
"I fell in love with Rome," Goldman said. "It's now one of my favorite cities in the world. I loved the culture and the people."
Her weekly schedule included classes from Monday through Thursday. No classes on Friday allowed Goldman to travel even more and she took advantage of the opportunity, touring the historic sites of Rome and visiting Venice and Florence. She also took a weekend trip to Brussels and spent spring break in Athens and the Greek Islands.
Goldman took four classes, with all the credits transferring back to La Salle. They included digital art, Shakespeare's Italian plays, western history and Italian.
The Italian class was the most beneficial since it was taught specifically for study abroad students and focused on everyday conversations.
"It was how to order a sandwich or talk to the taxi drivers," Goldman, who knew no Italian before arriving in Rome, said. "It was fun to have conversations in Italian, even though so many people spoke English."
In order to stay in shape for her final field hockey campaign, Goldman ran and worked on her stick skills to prepare for her senior season. After missing the spring non-traditional workout campaign to study abroad, she trained with strength and conditioning coach Brian Bingaman this summer and felt strong heading into preseason camp.
A communication major with a political science minor, Goldman hopes to use her experiences overseas to pursue a public relations job with the United Nations.
"The whole world is interconnected," Goldman said. "I'm really interested in politics, but I also enjoy communications as well. I think the United Nations would be a great fit for me."
Goldman would recommend that any student takes the opportunity to immerse themselves in a new culture.
"Most people don't have another time in their lives to spend several months in a different country," she said. "It was an amazing experience to get to know a whole new city and meet so many new people."
It's an experience that Goldman will remember for the rest of her life. But for now, she's focused on helping the Explorers to a berth in the Atlantic 10 Tournament.
