Jenna Reitz
Jenna is majoring in Visual Communication with a concentration in Information Graphics/Publication Design and minoring in History. She is also involved with several organizations on campus, including Growth International Volunteer Excursions (GIVE), Ohio University Multimedia Society (OUMS), and the Margaret Boyd Scholars Program. Jenna is also a proud Gilman Scholar/Alumna and serves as an AIFS Alumni Student Ambassador.
Jenna is lucky enough to have two global experiences at Ohio University so far!
In the summer of 2022, she studied abroad with the American Institute for Foreign Study (AIFS) for a month in Rome, Italy. While there she took two classes, Comparative Religions and Elementary Italian I at the Global Education Center in the heart of the city—both of which counted towards her major at OU! While in Italy, she was able to travel extensively across the country to cities like Napels, Florence, Amalfi, Cinque Terre & around the Tuscan countryside!
This summer, 2023, she attended Ohio University's very first "Rhetorics of Remembering" OHIO-Credit study away program in Germany and the Czech Republic. From Berlin, to Munich, Nuremberg, Prague, Terezin—and all the train rides in between; her cohort was able to study first-hand the atrocities that took place across Nazi Germany and occupied Czechoslovakia at the time. More specifically, analyzing the memorials that stand today and what effect that has in our current understanding of such events.
What skills do you feel you've gained from going on a global program?
There are so many skills to be gained by having an abroad experience! I believe that the greatest skill I have personally gained from both of my programs, most especially Rhetorics of Remembering, was a deepened sense of empathy, awareness, and sensitivity. My most recent abroad experience in Europe differed vastly from that of my summer in Rome—having visited several concentration camps, in addition to cities like Nuremberg and Terezin—the curriculum was centered on some pretty heavy subject matter. I truly believe that participating in this program has allowed me to become a better listener, leader, student, and individual.
What is one of your favorite memories from your global program?
One of my favorite memories from my first global program would have to be traveling with my classmates to the Amalfi Coast on one of our free weekends! We planned this trip ahead of time and stayed in Salerno, taking the ferry over to the coast each day. From swimming in the cerulean blue waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea, to splurging on Lemon gelato & exploring the winding landscape of Positano—it was a total Mamma Mia moment, for sure!
What advice would you give a student who is interested in a global program?
The best piece of advice I could give to a prospective study abroad student is to not let the cost of doing a global program stop you! There are countless scholarships and grants out there for you—many of which are offered at OGO!