Historian Andrews Study Abroad Adventure

Hello! My name is Tabitha Andrews, and next spring of 2023, I will study abroad in Florence, Italy, through AIFS (American Insitute of Foreign Study). I am excited to visit a culturally rich, famously artistic, and historically embedded city. I have created this Go Fund Me for friends and family members to assist in my journey to Europe if they want to do so.

During our study abroad experience, I will be:

Studying at an American Institute in the heart of Florence, Italy. I will be taking a variety of classes we wouldn't have the chance to take in the U.S., such as the Role of Women in Italy, Italian Woman and the Arts, and a course on the famous works of Dante Alighieri.

This is my first time outside of the U.S. As a historian and someone who studies medieval and global history, it is mindblowing that I have never had the opportunity to visit the historically famous cities of the world that I read about in textbooks. I am very grateful for the chance to visit Florence and, during our stay there, many other historically rich cities.

Any funding made to me for my time in Italy will be spent on basic living and educational purposes. The school provides us with housing and books, but I will need to pay for food, school materials, travel expenses, and any other unexpected prices that may come my way. This past semester at school, I found babysitting gigs weekly to aid in paying off school debt and saving for Italy. But unfortunately, the amount I have saved is not enough for the five months I will live abroad. I am asking for aid to pursue my biggest dreams.

While in Italy, I also plan to begin research for my final thesis project at Lake Forest College. My thesis will be based on a historical component of Florence, an event or period used to study the cultural practices of the city. In my research, I plan to make connections within Italy in my historical field of study. By making these connections, I intend to use them to find work abroad.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. For those who donate, I will send a link to the blog I have created for my journey in Italy.