36 HUF HUF International Program cut short in spring 2020. Harding University’s Spring 2020 International Programs were deeply affected by COVID-19. All of the programs were brought home after the virus’ outbreak. The first of the international programs to be sent home was the Harding University in Florence program (HUF). Students in the HUF program had only been in Italy for three weeks when they got the news on Feb. 26 that they would be going back to the U.S. due to the danger of COVID-19. Executive Director of International Programs Audra Pleasant shared the amount of research she did monitoring COVID-19 in Italy and all the abroad programs. “I was constantly tracking the number of cases in Florence and the other locations we had students to see what the best decision would be,” Pleasant said. “We had to worry about not only students’ safety, but also the ability to travel because we didn’t want them to get stuck in the country.” Pleasant was sympathetic with the students and their experiences, and was hopeful about the future of Harding’s International Programs. “We were the first group to have to leave, and at the time, there were still so many unknowns about the virus, so it kind of felt unfair, in a way, that we had to be the ones to leave first,” junior Jewel Gilbert said. “I would have rather stayed in quarantine with my friends than go back and quarantine alone.” Gilbert shared her emotions toward the process, how fast it all happened and how they were mandated by the state to quarantine for 14 days once they got back to the United States. Gilbert also shared her experience seeing the changes she saw in Italy due to COVID-19. “When I left, my mom gave me masks and said ‘Here, you will need these,’ and I laughed and thought, ‘There’s no way I’ll need a mask.’ After we got there, I noticed more and more people wearing masks, and then toward the end, things started to shut down and schools weren’t allowing travel. That’s when I knew we would probably be going home.” Despite the students’ study abroad experience lasting only three weeks, they were still able to make memories with friends and faculty on the trip. “My favorite part of the trip was getting to climb the Duomo,” junior Jackson Newsom said. “It was such a cool experience and so breathtaking. We also got to climb it together, so it was a fun memory to do it as a group and take pictures and see how breathtaking it was.” Gilbert and Newsom both shared that some of their favorite memories were getting to be with all the people on their trip, which made it even harder to leave. However, they said they were thankful for the time they spent in Italy. story by Kally Byrd FAREWELL, FLORENCE
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