A study abroad meeting took place in Lumpkin Hall from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesday where students learned about the opportunity to travel to Florence, Italy, over the summer. 

Lumpkin Hall associate dean David Melton and technology professor Jay Grabiec gave the presentation with five students in attendance 

Sophomore communications major Lila Lowell was very interested in the Italy trip.  

“My friend is going on this trip hopefully and has encouraged me to go with,” she said. “I always wanted to visit Italy.” 

Professor of accountancy and law Nicholas Robinson is the program’s co-coordinator and is responsible for putting the trip together alongside Melton.  

The trip will be from May 17 to June 6 with at least 20 Eastern students having signed up for the program so far.  

While there, everyone will be attending Florence University of Art where EIU classes will be assigned along with their study abroad classes. 

All Eastern student credits will be transferred over for the trip’s three week duration. After three weeks, all students will receive six credit hours towards their EIU degree. 

 As for undergrads, they have the option to apply those credits to their senior seminar.  

“Advisors will be met for each student that signs up,” Melton said. “That way we can figure out which courses can student take during this trip.”

Students will also have the opportunity to explore Italy during the time, including visits to Rome, Pompeii and even Milan.  

Activities will be held during the trip such as going to a Lamborghini company, making custom pasta and even being part of a cooking class.  

All trips and activities in Italy will be covered within the program fees.  

One activity that is mandatory is finding local artisans and writing a brief paragraph about them which Grabiec called a great experience.

“It will be really cool to hear stories about what they do and just meeting new people in general,” said Grabiec. 

Housing is also covered by the program with students living in apartments within 15 to 20 minutes walking distance from the university. Depending on the size of the apartment, it will be suitable for 4-8 students.  

There will also be a chance for Eastern students to room with other students that attend the university.  

However, most of these apartments do not have dryers, meaning students will have to hang their clothes to dry.   

To take part in this trip, the student must be currently enrolled or admitted at Eastern and have a passport. 

If a student does not have a passport, the program will give them an opportunity to obtain one. Students must also have a 2.0 GPA, be disciplined and financially stable at Eastern. 

Study abroad scholarships are also open on Eastern’s scholarship website. 

To apply for this program, go to Eastern’s study abroad website, login and submit the application.  

The application deadline is Feb. 11.  

For more information on the Italy trip, both Melton and Robinson can be contacted at dwmelton@eiu.edu and nrobinson@eiu.edu.

Koria Downs can be reached at 581-2812 or at kdowns@eiu.edu.