Undergraduate communication students traveled with Dr. Rob Wicks and Veronica Mobley to study at the University of Arkansas Rome Center this past spring and summer. While in Italy, students participated in internships, service projects, coursework, and various cultural experiences.  

Rob Wicks with Rome Study Abroad 2024 Cohort

Wicks taught International Communication and Globalization and Political Communication at the Rome Center during the Spring 2024 semester. Wicks guided his students on several excursions including tours of the Colosseum, Orvieto, Florence, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO, an agency of the United Nations), the Associated Press, the Vatican, Foro Italico, and Ostia Antica. The students also had the opportunity to participate in a Papal Audience with Pope Francis. 

As Wicks and his students said “arrivederci” to their semester abroad, Mobley and her students were arriving for a summer in Rome. As part of the Summer 2024 study abroad session, Mobley provided students with the opportunity to work with a wide variety of organizations from radio and television networks to social groups supporting Syrian refugees. Mobley shared, “The Communication in Rome Program will help students move past ideas of Rome as a bucket list location of historic sites and gelato, to an experience that can tangibly amplify their hard and soft skills on resumes, graduate school applications, and job interviews for years to come.” 

Mobley structured the intensive coursework so that students would experience multiple high-impact practices, which are shown to not only provide a rich educational experience for students but also help students persist to graduation. Mobley’s courses allowed students to not only intern with international media organizations but also participate in service-learning projects.  

Veronica Mobley with study abroad cohort in Hummustown

Students met with media agencies and nonprofits to discuss internal and external communication strategies along with best practices in intercultural communication. They attended behind-the-scenes meetings at The Dicastery of Communication at the Vatican. They also visited the Rome Bureau of the Associated Press, Italian Foreign Press, Eternal World Television Network (EWTN), and HummusTown, a non-proft organization that supports Syrian refugees.  

Jenna Klewsaat, an undergraduate double-majoring in Communication and Psychology with minors in English and Italian, praised the experience with Mobley. Klewsaat noted, “Working at EWTN was such an eye-opening experience because I was on my own in a professional setting for the first time. I saw what it’s really like to work in a non-academic atmosphere and became comfortable with being uncomfortable as I learned and practiced the skills I needed to adapt, communicate, and succeed.” 

Emily Hewett, a 2024 graduate of the BA program and current student in the department’s MA program, added, “When I think about my time studying abroad in Italy, I am nostalgic for the beautiful memories made, for the jam-packed academic adventures, for the daily walks through the streets of Rome, and for the start of genuine friendships that will last a lifetime.” Hewett called the experience life changing, adding, “I arrived at this experience wanting to know more about the world of communication, and while I achieved that goal, I left learning more about myself in ways I never imagined possible.”  

The Department of Communication plans to develop additional faculty-led summer study abroad programs over the next few years. The Department encourages students to take advantage of study abroad opportunities at the University of Arkansas Rome Center and beyond.  Students can learn more through Fulbright College’s Office of Global Engagement.  

Written by Lacie Bryles, marketing and programs specialist and Dr. Matthew Spialek, associate professor and department chair

Photos submitted by Dr. Rob Wicks and Veronica Mobley