What about Summer Rome?
Fall Rome
Everybody knows the typical arguments for why Fall Rome is better: the weather is warmer, the fall colors are gorgeous, the water in Greece isn’t frigid, the people are more fun, not everybody is a Bio major, and the Christmas markets are fantastic. But Fall Rome is inherently superior because of one key reason:
You get shoved onto a tiny campus in a foreign country with all these people you barely know. In Spring Rome, you’ve had an entire semester back in Irving to meet your Rome class. But two weeks into the Fall semester in Rome, you’re planning long weekend trips with people you’ve just met.
But the friendships that started during the Fall Rome semester are some of the best ones I have.
Next to the experiences and the people you’re experiencing with, the weather and the destinations don’t matter so much. Fall Rome gives students a unique opportunity to meet new people in a totally new environment, in which they form friendships that last long past the end of the semester.
This isn’t to say that the previously mentioned reasons why Fall Rome is great don’t matter. Dr. Jon Paul Heyne, Assistant Professor of History, said, “The weather in the fall is really nice when you get there, especially, and it probably remains nicer for more of the semester than is the case in the spring.”
Dr. Andrew Moran, Associate Professor of English and Director of the Summer Rome Program, also said, “Fall Rome has really lovely late summer, early autumn weather.”
Other students choose to go to Rome in the fall because of its opportune timing in the academic year. Senior history major Sophie del Mazo said, “It’s good to go into it after a whole summer of break. You’ve taken your academic rest.” Students that go to Rome in the Fall have a longer break during which to prepare for the semester ahead.
Fall Rome has a unique opportunity to travel to Naples as part of the Campania trip. In Spring Rome, students go on the Umbria trip, which includes Assisi, Orvieto, and Subiaco. Fall Rome goes to Assisi as part of the Northern Italy trip and offers Subiaco as a day trip. Also, Orvieto is a short train ride outside of Rome, and many students go there on their own time. Dr. Heyne said regarding the differences between the class trip destinations, “The main difference I’m remembering is that in the Fall, we went down to Naples, which we did not do in the Spring.”
The community in Fall Rome is also great. Moran referred to the culture of Fall Rome as “exuberant.”
Heyne said, “When fall students first arrived, it was immediately evident, because I could hear music playing very loudly and folks squealing with the light on in the dorm rooms.” Fall Rome classes generally have higher energy and a more adventurous spirit than Spring Rome.
However, the advice given to students most often is to go to Rome with your friends. Go to Rome, enjoy yourself and make memories!
Spring Rome
There are plenty of reasons why Spring Rome is the more popular choice for the Rome semester: the academic year ends on a high note, the students are intensely interested in making experiences and memories, not everyone is a business major, and there is more time to develop and prepare beforehand.
Dr. Chad Engellend, Professor of Philosophy, who taught for two years in Rome, agrees that this extra time benefits students. He said that fall students are sort of “third-semester freshmen,” while Spring Romers have “had the experience of seeing the chaos of freshmen and maturing in their years, so they’re often more ready.”
Fall Romers might cite the nicer weather as a draw, but in reality, Spring Rome has the advantage here, too; the weather turns from rainy to pleasant, and as the semester progresses, you see Rome become even more beautiful.
Dr. Engellend said that the fall semester begins “as a veritable Garden of Eden,” but “everything gets colder and slowly dies” as the semester progresses, and students are ready to leave Rome in the end.
“It’s the opposite in the spring,” Engellend said, “because you arrive and everything’s dead … it’s not a summery feel where you need to be outside.” But as the semester goes on, it culminates in beauty.
This general awakening, combined with students who have had more time to mature, makes for a culture of intense and intentional liveliness as the semester progresses.
Dr. Peter Hatlie, Professor of Classics, who has taught in the Rome semester since 1999, said that Fall Romers can often have a laid-back attitude of “let’s just enjoy the sunshine.” Spring Romers, he said, begin to yearn for more: “Students are really ready to challenge themselves… with each passing day in the spring.” He said there is a healthy “sense of urgency” as they realize all of the opportunities life offers them.
Lastly and perhaps most importantly, Spring Rome means you get to spend the Holy Week in Europe. Spromers cite this week as one of the biggest draws to the spring semester.
Junior biology major Siri Contreras said that the spirituality of Holy Week in Rome was “unmatched,” and that “it felt like I could really be immersed in it, as opposed to it being just a thing on the side.”
Spring Rome can give you one of the most memorable Triduums — and one of the most memorable semesters — of your life.
Of course, in the end, Rome is always Rome. The cultures in the two semesters may be different, but all students want to discover the Eternal City, make memories and deepen their beliefs and friendships.
Engellend suggested that “we should push back against the stereotypes” of the different types of Romers, as he often finds they aren’t accurate. He said not to think about Fall Rome as the “Oktoberfest semester” and Spring Rome as the “Easter semester,” but instead see that “spring has its own Oktoberfest flavor, and fall has its own spiritual flavor.”
As Hatlie said, the “Rome semester is a mini-education in life.” Both semesters have advantages and disadvantages, but at its heart, the Rome semester remains the same – a once-in-a-lifetime blend of education and experience that gives students an intense education in both the Roman world and a life well-lived.
What about Summer Rome?
Often overlooked, Summer Rome is another great option for those who want to go to Rome but cannot go during the fall and the spring, such as student athletes.
Johny Olmstead, senior business major, said, “I think one of the fascinating aspects about Summer Rome is that it provides a unique opportunity for people like myself who are student athletes or other students who are obligated to be in Irving year-round.”
Dr. Andrew Moran, Associate Professor of English and Director of the Summer Rome Program, said that Summer Rome is also a great opportunity for making new friends, and he calls Summer Rome “the semester of new friendships.”
If you need convincing on the reason why Summer Rome is the semester of new friendships, Fr. Thomas Esposito, Associate Professor of Theology, has got you covered. He said, “Students who never interact here on the Irving campus become friends. Students who would never be friends here on the Irving campus become buds on the Rome campus. Easy example for me: seminarians and softball girls; they just wouldn’t interact here, but during the Summer Rome semester, they’re classmates, and you have to get to know each other.”
“The best part about [Summer Rome] was that there were less people there,” said Warren Rudman, senior history major. “Having a smaller group was actually really nice. [You] got to know everybody. There wasn’t anyone you didn’t get to know during the time you were there [and] a lot more time with your professors.”
Ava Aleman, junior business major, said, “[The culture of Summer Rome] was very close-knit. Obviously, it was fun. You just get to know everyone really well since it’s such a small group.”
There are also many things that Summer Romers can do that Fall and Spring Romers can’t do, like island hopping and going to Padua during the Northern Italy trip. Also, depending on how many people go, you could have your own room. Furthermore, there are also various feast days that Summer Romers can celebrate in Rome, such as Pentecost, Corpus Christi and Sts. Peter and Paul.
But if you need another reason to go to Summer Rome, it is the fact that Pope Leo XIV, the first American Pope, resides in Castel Gandolfo during the summer, just two miles from the Rome campus.
“Can we just say we’ve been his neighbor up there for twenty-five years?” said Dr. Susan Hanssen, Associate Professor of History. “The University of Dallas in Marino, right in Castel Gandolfo. We are locals!”
If you want to go to Rome but cannot go during the fall or the spring, go to Summer Rome! What are you waiting for? You will have a blast!