Hannah Roux

International Experience Country:
Italy
Cohort Year:
2018
Home Institution:

Duquesne University

Heinz Programming Area:
Education
Bio:
Study Abroad Country: Cohort Year:  Home Institution:  Programming Area: 
International Experience Summary:

Hannah spent a month in Italy studying Italian history, culture, and music. Living in a suburban area just outside the city of Rome, she had almost all of her classes on site studying the artifacts, sculptures, and architecture of the great historical city. On the weekends, she traveled to other parts of the country to continue her studies in various cities. The first weekend she spent in Florence where the history of Italy came alive when she walked across the Ponte Vecchio. The second weekend she traveled to Northern Italy to visit Venice, Cremona, and Busseto. While traveling, she had the opportunity to see an opera in La Fenice, one of the most famous opera houses, take a walking tour of Venice, hear a Stradivarius violin at the Violin Museum in Cremona, and visit Guiseppe Verdi’s birth place in Busseto. The third weekend was spent in in Naples and the Isle of Capri. The sight of Mount Vesuvius, visiting Pompeii and Herculaneum, and learning about the history of Southern Italy was easily Hannah’s favorite part of the trip. Finally, the fourth weekend of the program ended with a concert in Rome, put on by all of the music students, and a final dinner. The music education that Hannah received while studying in Italy was incredible. Seeing live performances, having a private lesson, and performing in Rome is just a scratch on the surface of what she took away with her from the program. In addition, she also really loved her history and art courses. History has always been an interesting topic to her, so it was no surprise when she fell in love with her history class. What made the history and art courses even better was that they were all on site in the city of Rome. Throughout the trip, there were also other great experiences and opportunities that Hannah took advantage of, including a cooking class! Although she struggles to cook, the cooking class was one of the highlights of the trip. Hannah also had one of the most memorable moments of her life when she was blessed by the Pope and received a private tour of the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica. All of these portions of the program do not even come close to everything that Hannah experienced and took away with her during her program in Italy.

Community Engagement Experience Summary:

CEE Title: Not My Place and Not My Problem: A Discussion of Ethics Abroad

“Not My Place and Not My Problem” was an open discussion on ethical issues abroad and at home in Pittsburgh. The event was held on Duquesne’s campus and ran by undergraduates at the university: Kelly Wall, Alexa Brightman, and Hannah Roux. Each young woman brought different ideas and conversations to the table regarding their global experiences in the Czech Republic, Jordan, and Italy, respectively. Some of the topics discussed at the event included homelessness, human trafficking, body image, sexual assault, and much more. One of the goals of the event was to not only create an open, comfortable space for these issues to be discussed, but to also relate ethical issues back to Pittsburgh. The presenters really took to heart the idea of “think globally, act locally” when planning this event. To conclude the CEE, the specific topics of homelessness, human trafficking, and sexual assault were then presented with facts and statistics about the greater Pittsburgh area. Facts and statistics were also presented to the audience to target college students, which was the majority of those in attendance. Finally, resources were provided to the attendees for support or outlets for more research.

It was the hope of these three young women that their event would be sustainable in the aspect that after the attendees would leave the event, they would continue having conversations about the ethical issues at hand. Although it will never be known if this was achieved, it is a form of accomplishment to know that the event was successful in the moment. In a world full of bias, harshness, and prejudice, those that attended came together for an evening of open discussion about some of the most challenging global, and local, ethical issues.