A Kent State University student who returned to the U.S. amid Coronavirus concerns is disappointed that her study abroad program was cut short. But she hopes to someday return to Italy.
Bella Lang is a junior majoring in fashion design at Kent State University. This semester, she was studying in Florence and also planned to visit Milan, London, and the Canary Islands. One-by-one, those trips were cancelled amid growing concerns over Coronavirus. Last month, Kent State gave students the option to return home. And when the Centers For Disease Control issued a Level 3 warning for Italy, the university ordered students to return to the U.S.
“We were pretty upset. We weren’t too concerned about getting it because at that time, there were only about three cases in Florence. At the airport, they gave us a piece of paper to fil out that said, ‘have you had any of these symptoms?’ And if you had, they would screen you right there. But if not, you were just free to go through.”
Lang says she would have stayed, and hopes she gets the opportunity to return.
“I think that if enough of us tell them we would want to study there again because of the situation, they would make a senior studio. Because they don’t currently have the senior classes for fashion design students.”
Lang says she feels fine, but the CDC recommended she self-isolate for two weeks at home in Columbus, which she plans to do. Then she can either return to campus or finish the semester online.
Walsh University and Ohio State University have also brought back their students studying in Italy.
