ADVENTURES AT FRANKLIN

Welcome back or welcome to Adventures at Franklin ! It’s been exactly a year since the last post, but I promise it will not be a year till the next one! I won’t cover everything from the past year, but I will briefly recap the happenings of the Franklin community since entering the new decade. I may or may not also introduce myself at the end ;) as the proverbial blogging authorship torch has been passed to the next generation of Franklin, to yours truly.  Outside of Franklin, there are many talking points from this new decade. Just to name a few, there have been: historical moments (#Parasite), tragic deaths (#KB24), politics (#Brexit), and we are barely 8 weeks into 2020. Similarly, there are lots of things happening at FUS. It’s the start of spring semester which also means: Sadly, we lost some faces from last fall as they study abroad, return to their home institutions or move on to a new adventures, but we have some new faces on campus! According to -not the most reli...

December is upon us, and the festivities are well underway! The trees are lit, markets are open, and snowfall has begun. While students are finishing up essays and exams, they are also trying to fit in the last few days of winter exploration. Side note: If you plan on journeying to an Italian-speaking destination during the holidays, you should know the word for Christmas – “Natale” – as it will pop up everywhere.   It all began on December 1 st with a series of tree lightings in Lugano. First, Franklin students decorated the FUS Christmas tree on campus with lights, decorations, and – of course – tinsel. There were cookies, candy canes, hot chocolate, and smiles so big that they could only be caused by holiday cheer. After the tree was sufficiently shiny, students wandered downtown to watch the city’s biggest Christmas tree light up in the main square (the Piazza della Riforma). After the long-awaited countdown, the packed crowd dispersed to explore the Christmas...

Choosing where you want to go to college can be a difficult and complicated decision - believe me, I know - I went through the process myself! Here at Franklin, we want to make it as easy as possible for prospective students to find the information they need about our university. Therefore, I've compiled a quick guide with an aim to help you find answers to some of your questions! Topics of Study and Choosing Your Path Undergraduate programs at Franklin offer a highly interdisciplinary approach to learning, which helps students develop a host of great traits through the core requirements, such as intercultural competencies and critical thinking skills. And of course, let's not forget about Academic Travel ! Franklin offers 22 major areas of study , with the flexibility to design your own program in a myriad of ways. One thing that makes our university so special is that, to a certain extent, students are able to create their own path of study. It's also impor...

Hello! Welcome to a new series called Swiss Cities in Depth . I'm interested in highlighting some of the great places Switzerland has to offer by featuring some of its cities here on the Adventures at Franklin blog. Since the majority of the country is accessible within several hours by train, these cities are also excellent to visit for a day or a weekend.  I thought that the best way to begin would be by writing about the city that Franklin calls home — Lugano. Technically, Franklin is located within a  Comune  (municipality) called Sorengo. However, Sorengo lies within the metropolitan area of Lugano, the largest city in Canton Ticino.  Geneva isn't the only city with a "Jet d'Eau" - Lake Lugano has one too. Ours is located in Paradiso, another Luganese municipality. Lugano has existed, albeit in a less developed form, for over 1000 years. There is proof the area was inhabited dating back at least to the 10th century, and artifacts discovered h...

The view of Monte San Salvatore from a local park! It's really funny to think about how much has changed, and in some cases, how much hasn't, in the past (almost) three years that I've been here at Franklin. Every time I go home I'm reminded of how much I've grown and matured, but recalling the very first days, and that first fall semester as a freshman, I'm proud to notice how much more Franklin really seems like home, and Lugano, the community I want to be in. My parents came over with me during Fall Orientation , and it seemed as though Lugano was an entirely different world. I had no idea where to grocery shop, who the professors were, or even the name of the token mountain in our area, Monte San Salvatore (above). I've learned many lessons, big and small, since that first Orientation so I thought I'd share more about what life's like as a Franklin student. In terms of academics , FUS students are truly are getting a liberal ar...