CDT Alexa Gubanich Studies Abroad in Italy!

February 12, 2024

My name is Alexa Gubanich, and I am a senior Landscape Architecture (LARC) major and Army ROTC cadet from Fairfax, VA. One of the most remarkable experiences I had from partaking in both programs was the opportunity to study abroad in Genoa, Italy. Initially, I was told I could not complete my LARC abroad because I needed to be in Clemson to complete my ROTC training physically. However, due to the cooperation of my advisors in both programs, I was eventually presented with the opportunity and ability to study abroad during the Fall semester of my senior year!

In Genoa, I joined the legacy of living in the historic Clemson villa that overlooks the Mediterranean Sea and the Genovezian skyline, where Disney Pixar’s Luca got its inspiration. In the villa, we had classes, did our studio projects, ate meals, socialized, and slept. There, I lived with eighteen other Clemson LARC & Architecture students and our Clemson professor and his family. Our other professors and staff, such as our directors, cook, and housekeeper, were Italian, and they helped us learn the language, culture/customs, and navigate the cities, which made it a very authentic Italian experience. Genoa is less adapted to English than popular cities like Rome, Milan, and Venice, so learning the culture and language to maneuver and live in the city was essential. Our academics were also engaging because it was with a mixture of graduate and undergraduate students, so we were held to a high standard, and I was able to hone in on landscape architecture, architecture, and engineering content, theory, and practices.

Lastly, one of my favorite things about studying abroad was, of course, the travel. For school, we traveled every Thursday to surrounding Italian cities and experienced two 10-day trips where our entire class ventured further into Italy to examine the sites thoroughly. We also had an independent travel period for fall break, where we could go wherever we wanted! This was one of my highlights because I was able to go to Germany, see my family and reconnect with my roots! I also had the opportunity to head to Tromsø, Norway, to see the Northern Lights; Krakow, Poland, to visit Auschwitz and Birkenau; and Barcelona, Spain, to see our neighboring study abroad program and the sites.

The semester abroad provided me with an invaluable period of travel, creating and reestablishing connections, and an explosion of creativity and self-discovery. I am forever thankful for the ability to see the world from a non-military perspective before commissioning because it allows me to join the Army with an expanded view of how the world functions with and without the military.