Prior to attending Loyola University Maryland, the Middle East, Northern Africa, and Asia were parts of the world that my only true understanding of came through pictures I found in my history textbooks. During my freshman and sophomore years in college, I decided to study Arabic—little did I know that this decision would pave the path for me to make life-long memories and finally see the places that I had only seen on the pages of my textbooks.

During the fall of my junior year, I studied abroad in Dubai at The American University of Dubai to further my knowledge of Arabic by immersing myself in the culture. During my time at AUD, I was obligated to leave the country four times on a “visa-run” with my fellow Loyola classmates and we opted to turn them into weekend trips so that we could better explore the countries in the region where we were spending the semester. The four countries that I visited were India, Lebanon, Egypt, and Oman. These obligatory weekend trips turned out to be the most memorable of my study abroad experience, not only because of the places that I saw but primarily the people I met. I made many friends that were just as eager to learn more about my Italian American culture as I was to learn more about theirs. This dialogue was particularly profound being that it provided new insight into their culture as well as dispelled many misconceptions that I previously held.

My two favorite places that I was blessed to see were the Pyramid of Giza and Monkey Village. The Pyramid of Giza was especially memorable as I had the opportunity to ride a camel around the perimeter of the structure and take in the surrounding sights such as the Great Sphinx. In Jaipur, I had the opportunity to go to a place called Monkey Village where I came face-to-face with about fifty monkeys, fed them, and had a few climb on me. On the other hand, Dubai had much to offer in terms of incredible modern feats such as the Burj Khalifa and the ski slope located inside the Mall of the Emirates. Having the opportunity to snowboard down a ski slope inside a mall in the middle of a desert is still something that astonishes me to this day.

In September, I will be returning to Loyola to pursue my MBA as part of the one-year ELMBA program offered by the University. During this time, I plan on securing an internship in the Baltimore area with a concentration in financial services with the goal of gaining experience in the field. Following my graduation from the MBA program, I plan on returning to New York and work in the global wealth management department of an international company.

I have been serving my fellow YAA Board members by facilitating communications, recruiting, evaluating applications of prospective members, maintaining our active roster, sending out announcements, and helping to plan and run our bi-annual galas and other events at CCF and beyond. Getting to meet new members and celebrate with fellow YAA Board members Anthony Zampolin, Mike Ippolito, and Steve Dardis at the end of the night have been among my happiest memories serving as the YAA Secretary.

The Columbus Citizens Foundation has allowed me to travel to places and receive a quality of education that I would not have even been able to fathom when I was younger. Just as the Foundation provided me with financial assistance over the course of eight years during my time at Xavier High School and Loyola University Maryland, I plan on staying closely connected with the Foundation and cannot wait to assist future CCF Scholars.