From Gears to Galleries: Inspiring an Engineer to Love Art

By: Lydia Malen

Hello! I am beyond excited to be writing my first blog post for CIEE! My name is Lydia Malen, and I have been an Open Campus Block student in Rome for the past few months. This experience has been the highlight of my college experience. It taught me so much about myself, and brought me closer to art in all forms.

Back home, I am a computer engineering and computer sciences student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I am passionate about making a positive impact on our world through the improvement of technology, and that is what I have been focusing on for the past few years within my degree and professional experiences. Studying abroad was a significant change of pace from my usual college routine.

I did not know what to expect from a study abroad program, but I took a chance on CIEE’s art history-focused courses and absolutely loved them! Art history was new to me, but Professor Kevin’s “Exploring Rome, the Birthplace of the Modern Museum” course was simply amazing! We visited a new museum during almost every class session. Some of my favorites were the Vatican Museums, the Capitoline Museum, and Villa Torlonia.

I had little experience studying art history, so the courses I took in Rome allowed me to gain new, exciting skills. Eventually, I fell in love with learning about art and I prioritized visiting famous art museums during my time in Rome as well as weekend trips abroad. Some of my favorite art museums outside of Rome that I visited included the Musei D’Orsay in Paris, the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin, and the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid. I was wildly impressed with the variety of art pieces shown in these museums, and I know I could spend the rest of my life continuing to learn about these topics.

I feel very lucky to have been able to study art history with amazing professors in Rome through CIEE. Even though I will go back to studying computer engineering for the next few semesters, I know my journey in the art world is only beginning. I can’t wait to see what comes next!

EXPLORE ROME