Former Photo Bloggers: Summer 2019
Macy Dickson
University of Arkansas
Florence, Italy 
My name is Macy Dickson and I am from Dallas, Texas and I currently attend the University of Arkansas where I am a marketing major with a focus on media and e-commerce. Traveling has always been a passion of mine and studying abroad alone will really allow me to submerse myself in different cultures and take time to enjoy it. This summer, I will be based in Florence, Italy and I can’t wait to share my experiences on the blog and further my photography skills!
Abigail Ferris
The College of Saint Rose
Auckland, New Zealand (ISA Internships)
My name is Abigail Ferris. I am a senior at The College of Saint Rose, a small liberal arts college in Albany, NY, just a few hours north of New York City. I am studying Childhood Education and I am interning in New Zealand at Wairau Valley Special School this summer. I am a photographer, working mostly with film cameras, and in my free time I enjoy writing, reading and hiking. I hope to gain a better understanding of myself and the cultural differences in education throughout the world.
Reagan Flippo
California Baptist University
Barcelona, Spain 
Hi my name is Reagan Flippo, I go to California Baptist University and I am majoring in Exercise Science. I really like traveling and exploring new places. I have taken pictures for over 6 years and love expressing stories through my photography. I come from a family of professional photographers and I got into photography when I was a sophomore in high school.
Caitlyn Handlin
West Chester University
Cusco, Peru (ISA Service-Learning)
My name is Cait and I am an undergraduate student studying Cultural Anthropology and Spanish with a minor in Latin American Studies. I am on a quest to dig deep into Peruvian culture and I chose this beautiful country for its cultural and geographic diversity. While here I hope to improve my Spanish and build relationships with the people I meet. With my degree, I would love to enter into photojournalism. When I am not taking photos, I love to hike, rock climb, and draw!
Olivia Helka
Northern Michigan University
Rome, Italy 
I am an English Writing student from Northern Michigan University, spending my summer in Rome, Italy. I chose Italy because it’s on my bucket list and the history of it fascinates me. This time abroad is to help me understand who I am as a writer and a person outside of just going to school. Blogging is new to me, I lean more towards fiction and short stories so I am stepping out of my comfort zone while across seas. Writing is one of my hobbies, some others include hiking, hammocking, and reading as many books as I can.
JunLan Li
The University of Alabama
Shanghai, China
My name is JunLan Li (aka Tracy Li). My hobbies include any kind of activity that requires creativity or adventure. I like to write, sing, dance, edit videos, take photos, go on outdoor excursions, travel, etc. I am a Chinese-American from Tuscaloosa, AL. I have only left the country a few times to a few places with most of those times being when I was too young to remember. So, when it’s finally time for me to independently determine a destination of all the places in the world, why choose China? When the transition into ‘adulthood’ hit, I found myself thinking about my place in the world, and the thing is I really can’t begin to ‘find myself’ by ignoring the fact that many aspects about myself have been impacted through customs originating from a place I barely know halfway across the world. However, what makes my situation unique is that I have had to manage with juggling two cultures my whole life, with one I believe I still understand at the surface level. Thus, it is with this study abroad trip that I hope to attain a heightened awareness of the other side of me I haven’t yet had the chance to properly know.
Tyler McDowell
University of Mississippi
Paris, France 
I knew I wanted to travel the world the minute I stepped onto my first ever plane flight and made my way across the ocean nearly ten years ago. I was just a young girl at the time and I could not fully comprehend why I felt the way that I did. I could not understand why I suddenly had such a deep desire to travel more, to see the world and experience every culture that I could. I could not understand why I suddenly dreamed of diving into another country, living a new way of life and experiencing something so new. Even today, I’m not sure I fully understand it, but I am now making this dream come true through ISA. I will be studying in Paris, France this summer and am happy to document every minute of my experience, sharing the culture, language and many great aspects of this country with all of you. I hope my posts are helpful or insightful to at least a few of you out there. Au revoir!
Siobhan Mitchell
Denison University
San José, Costa Rica (ISA Service-Learning)
Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, I was fortunate enough to experience many different cultures from a very young age. As a child I loved sitting on BART (the train) and listen to conversations in many different languages. My favorite hobbies include hiking with my German Shepherd, Kap, and browsing various farmer’s markets. In Costa Rica, I am looking forward to experiencing the local culture through improving my Spanish language skills with my host mom, trying new foods, and adventuring with my roommates. I’m excited to take photos and share them with the world!
Elyse Penn
Old Dominion University
Milan, Italy
Giovanna Rodriguez
University of California, Davis
Kuranda & Cairns, Australia (ISA Internships) 
Hi my name is Giovanna and I am a first generation transfer student. I grew up in the Bay Area helping my family make a living by working flea markets from a young age. I love my family but we’ve never had it easy that’s why I am working very hard to earn a B.S. in Wildlife Fisheries and Conservation at UC Davis. Working with wildlife a passion but I am so excited that I have such a wonderful opportunity to work with a couple of Australia’s native wildlife and learn what conservation means at a global scale. I hope to help save our ecosystem and all its inhabitants with other biologists one day.
Louise Scharff
University of Louisville
Glasgow, Scotland 
Hi! I am Louise Scharff and I am a student at the University of Louisville. I am an avid traveler and have seen a large majority of the United States. However, I have not traveled much outside of the US and am thrilled to have the opportunity to study abroad in Scotland. I am excited to gain independence and learn about new cultures and histories from another country.
Sarah Schleicher
University of Missouri, Kansas City
Heredia, Costa Rica
Sarah Schleicher is a senior at the University of Missouri – Kansas City majoring in Spanish and minoring in Latinx/Latin American Studies. She is completing the last two required classes for her degree this summer as a Gilman Scholar with the ISA Spanish Language & Latin American Literature summer in Heredia, Costa Rica program. She is currently a pre-K teacher and enrichment coordinator, and she would eventually like to work supporting Spanish speaking children.
Julianna Seariac
Pace University NYC
Dublin, Ireland
Hi! My name is Juli and I am originally from Chino Hills, California. I am a double major in Economics and Women and Gender Studies at Pace University in New York City! I spend a lot of time traveling 
from coast to coast throughout the year. After a high school senior year trip to Paris, I knew I needed to spend the rest of my life traveling internationally and experiencing different cultures and lifestyles. This summer I will be studying in Dublin, Ireland at Maynooth University! As a Resident Assistant at my home university, I am extremely busy during the school year handling many other students and their needs. I hope to open my world to new cultures and learn everyday life skills that I can use in my senior year of college, and for the rest of my life. I chose to study in Ireland because I have known since I was very young that I wanted to experience Ireland on a deeper level than a normal vacation visit. I am excited to share my experiences in Ireland through my photos and blog posts!!
Alissa Steward
University of Missouri
Paris, France 
From a young age, I have wanted to travel the world. For the last 21 years, I have lived in the midwest US, and when I started college at the University of Missouri, I knew the one thing I had to do before graduating was study abroad. Now I’m going into my final year of school, and I’m finally completing that goal in Paris! And though I’m studying film, photography is where I found my love for visual arts. So, I hope to capture the beauty of Paris one photo at a time.
Sloane Swift
Samford University
Florence, Italy
Hi I’m Sloane! I am a senior Marketing major at Samford University in Birmingham, AL. I love taking pictures and videos and being creative, and I can’t wait to do this abroad in Italy this summer! I love to travel and see new places, and I’m also a foodie so Italy is the perfect place for me. I’m looking forward to trying new things and making new friends!
Quincy Walter
Florida State University
Valencia, Spain (ISA Internships)
Hi there! I am Quincy, a current student at Florida State University studying English and philosophy. This summer in Spain, I am looking forward to be able to learn about a different culture and lifestyle from my own while also gaining experience in my field of interest. I cannot wait to write and share these new experiences!
Maura Whelan
University of Tennessee Knoxville
Athens, Greece
Emma Wilson
University of Nebraska, Lincoln
Amsterdam, The Netherlands 
Hello! My name is Emma, I’m a sophomore studying Fisheries & Wildlife at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. I’m spending my summer at Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. I’m hoping to travel as much as I can within Europe and immerse myself into Dutch culture. I very much look forward to eating poffertjes every single morning and walking along the canals!
Rhiannon Wright
Texas A&M Corpus Christi
Athens, Greece
Mallory Yohn
Texas Tech University
Florence, Italy (ISA Service Learning)