Hi! My name is Michela and I’m a second-year Advertising & PR student. I am originally from Rome, Italy and I moved to London last year to attend Richmond University.
I had also always wanted to live and study in the United States, and when I heard Richmond offered the opportunity to study abroad for a semester, I decided to apply to go study in New York City at Pace University.
I am almost at the end of the semester, which is four months long here, but it really felt like four weeks… what do they say, time flies when you’re having fun!
What I love the most about this university is that the New York City campus (there are two) is in downtown Manhattan and everything is super close from a five-minute walk to Wall Street and the Brooklyn bridge to a subway ride that can take you all the way uptown to Queens. This makes it very easy to explore the city during the weekend or even in between your classes if your schedule allows it!
The other Pace University campus is in Werchester, a town one hour away from the city, and is where all the college sports games happen as they have a big stadium.
Both campuses have always a lot of events going on and there are so many clubs and society to choose from and join!
I joined the Music Business Club and the International Students Club at the beginning of the semester: they both have meetings every week and offer the opportunity to meet people and make new friends outside of your classes. My favorite club activities so far have been the Grammy Awards Watch Party and the Painting Session we just had last week!
Overall, I think a study abroad semester in New York City is the perfect combination of the American college experience and city life. As a city girl, I love just walking around the streets surrounded by huge skyscrapers or watch the skyline from Brooklyn, but I think New York has also a lot of green natural areas to offer if you want to escape from the chaos of the city for a bit. Last week I went to Governor’s Island which is a small island just 30 minutes away from my dorm with the ferry and enjoyed a sunny day surrounded by pink cherry trees and amazing views of Manhattan.
I also took a day trip to Philadelphia last month which was such a cute historical city just a couple of hours from NYC, and I’m planning to go to Boston this weekend and maybe take a sneak peek of Harvard Uni!
This is all for now but look out for my next blog on my top five favourite things to do in New York!
Until next time,
Michela
