A Coruña Global Ambassadors

My name is Mary Droesch and am from Cold Spring Harbor, NY. I am a psychology major on the pre-nursing track and I studied abroad in A Coruña, Spain during the fall 2023 semester. I really enjoyed living with a host family and having the opportunity to learn Spanish while abroad. I also really enjoyed walking around the city and along the beach which is right in the center of A Coruña!

Contact: medroe25@g.holycross.edu, marydroesch14@gmail.com

Hi, my name is Alexandra Biggs, and I studies abroad in A Coruña during the Fall of my junior year. I loved my experience in A Coruña and would be happy to connece with any future students! Pro tip: I really wanted to limit my English when I was abroad, and in order to do that, I deleted Instagram, listened to only Spanish music and only watched tv shows in Spanish. At first it was a challenge to be so far away from my friends and I was worried that deleting social media would make me feel even more isolated. But by deleting social media and fully immersing myself in the experience, I was able to focus on developing my language skills and my relationships with people in Spain. I was able to really focus on my language abilities in a way I never had before. I benefitted greatly from committing to this goal and I learned a lot about myself by studying abroad.

Contact: ambigg23@g.holycross.edu, ambbiggs@gmail.com 

Hi! My name is Lucia Ardizzone, and I studied abroad in A Coruña, Spain for the academic year. I am a Spanish major and Environmental Studies minor. I had so many interesting experiences abroad that I never could have had had I stayed at Holy Cross. If you’re curious about studying abroad and want to know more about Spain or going abroad for the whole year, I would love to share my perspective with you! 

Contact: lnardi23@g.holycross.edu, ardizzoneln@gmail.com 

Hi, my name Haley and I studied abroad in A Coruña during my junior year. One of the most valuable things I learned abroad is that I'm stronger and more independent than I thought. I very quickly found a home in A Coruña, and I think part of this was because of how quickly I got close with the people around me. This is another lesson I learned: being open and confident in a new setting can really help you adjust. I very quickly felt comfortable around my host family and the seven other students from Holy Cross I hadn't even met before. I learned that no matter where I am in the world, if I have people close to me who support me and have similar goals and I am confident in myself, I will be able to succeed.

Contact: hewels23@g.holycross.edu, haleywelsh2@gmail.com

Hi, my name is Patrick, and I loved spending my entire junior year in A Coruña. I faced a lot of challenges while abroad—I was living there for a year. It began to feel less like I was traveling and more like I was just living life pretty quickly, so all the challenges a 20 year old kid might face? I just faced them in Spain. Maybe they had a different flavor and color to them, but challenges are challenges. Yeah, I got injured a bunch, but that was only my first 18 days. I was in Spain for 353. I faced a lot of challenges, and for just about all of them, even if I didn’t know I could overcome them, I still believed in myself. I was still positive and hopeful, and I loved every second of it.

Contact: patnolan0@gmail.com, pgnola23@g.holycross.edu