Lilia Livolsi '27 has every intention of studying abroad next spring, but she knows her parents are leery of the their daughter living on the other side of an ocean for four months. Brilliantly, Livolsi came up with a plan to ease them into the idea.
Livolsi took her first foreign language class, Italian, in the 7th grade. She was fascinated by the code-breaking challenge of deciphering a completely different form of communication, and when she got to high school, she decided to start from scratch. She took French as a sophomore, and tried out Spanish as a senior. She still toys with Italian and Spanish on Duolingo for fun, but French has her heart.
"It just stuck with me. I fell in love with the culture. I came into Siena undecided, but ended up choosing both psychology and French as majors (with a minor in international studies)."
When Livolsi was in middle school, around the time she started taking Italian, her mom took her to Friendly's for lunch. There was a mural of the world on the wall, and Livolsi started spouting off the names of countries. Her mom knew in that moment she was doomed.
"It was non-negotiable. Studying abroad for me was a matter of where, not if. But I knew I had to get my parents on board. Then Professor Shideler told me about this program, and it seemed like the perfect international start."
Livolsi is enrolled in a fully immersive French program at Laval University in Quebec City, Quebec. It's not on the other side of the ocean, though it is on the other side of the border. And it's not a four-month stay, just five weeks. Her parents signed off, and Livolsi is having a blast exploring the culture and the language.
"A lot of people here don't speak English very well, so in school and in town, French is all I speak. I really believe to understand psychology and the human mind, you need to learn about other cultures, and you can't truly grasp the culture without learning the language. They're intertwined."
And to grow as a person, you need to leave the comfort of home behind. It's intertwined. Livolsi flew solo at the start of her adventure, something she's never done before, and she's the only Saint (and one of just a few Americans) in her program.
"It's all been super exciting. Just getting here and seeing the signs in French and the traffic lights are different, it all interests me. I've made a lot of friends and we go to the mall and cafes. I even went zip-lining. My parents don't know that yet."
But Livolsi's parents are proud to see her thriving in Quebec, and that's going to make the conversation about France next spring much easier. And it likely won't end there. Livolsi is considering (she has years to figure it out) pursuing a master's degree abroad, maybe in psychology. Of course, this will come as less than a surprise to her parents than the zip-lining. Livolsi showed her hand at Friendly's about seven years ago.
