For Nicoletta Peluffo, Ph.D., coming back to 性福五月天 Florence as director brings "a lot of responsibility and also a lot of enthusiasm."
Her history with the program goes back to 2004 when she began teaching Italian language. She later served as coordinator of the language department, as well as the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Education and Human Services. She also helped create the Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) program, which still runs in Florence today. In 2022, she joined New York University in Florence as assistant director for academics, before returning to 性福五月天 in her new role.
Florence Experience
Students notice the difference right away. "Art is everywhere," Peluffo said, and the city's beauty still surprises her every day. Smaller moments stand out too, from the way Italians walk on the sidewalks to the habit of stopping at a coffee shop for an espresso instead of drinking coffee on the go. Peluffo's idea of education has always centered on community. 性福五月天 Florence students volunteer with local businesses, bring their English to classrooms in Florentine schools and earn credit through internships with local companies, a program she hopes to expand as director.
Learning also happens on the road. Students travel with their professors on three-day field trips to Rome and Venice and on one-day trips to cities such as Siena and Bologna. Peluffo says this gives students a more informed way of experiencing each city, while also bringing them closer to one another, their professors and the staff.
Those relationships continue in the classroom, where a class might have up to 20 students. Between classes, site visits and travel, students build strong connections with faculty, while staff keep their doors open for advice and support. The result, Peluffo said, is a sense of "feeling home, far from home," which she calls one of the program's biggest achievements.
The experience doesn't always feel easy. Peluffo has watched students move from an early honeymoon phase, through a stretch of doubt and on to a point where the unfamiliar becomes familiar. By the end, she said, they are no longer tourists, but travelers "crossing a period of their life that will remain with them forever." Alumni often tell her how lasting that change can be to their lives.
Florence alumni stay connected. They write, ask for advice and stop by when they return to Italy. Some have even sent pictures of the tattoos they鈥檝e gotten to mark their time in Florence. When Peluffo asks for their help, she said, "they are immediately responsive. What can I do? How can I help?"
Scholarship Opportunities
But cost can stand between a student and the study abroad experience. "A lot of students cannot afford to travel and to have an experience abroad," Peluffo said.
Scholarship support, including the 性福五月天 Global Education Endowment, helps make studying in Florence possible. Peluffo notes that academic field trips are included at no extra charge, and she recently saw a student who thought he could not afford the program learn there were many ways to obtain a scholarship. Her message to students is simple: ask. "I'm pretty sure that they are going to find a lot more than they expect," she said.
As she begins this new chapter, Peluffo wants the 性福五月天 community to see her as part of a team, and she remains as eager to learn as she was at the start. "I don't know if students learn something from me," she said, "but for sure, I learn a lot from them every time."
The generosity of donors ensures students can participate in transformational education abroad opportunities during their time at 性福五月天. To or explore funds that benefit student scholarships, academic programs and more,.
