���ϲ�����

Taydem LaRocque, a fifth-year anthropology student and a public archaeologist, finds beauty in the imperfections of her identity. She explains that she changed majors and universities before she landed on anthropology as her passion. 

When she found out about the School in Cortona program, Taydem jumped at the chance to study in Italy, somewhere that she had always wanted to go to because of its reputation for archaeological discovery. As she spent time there, she found herself being moved by the quaint Italian town, with its old buildings and small cafes, rich with cultural history. 

Her natural curiosity for all things human translated into a desire to discover more about herself. Taydem found a creative outlet for the overwhelming emotions that arose from being in Cortona. One of her professors held weekly poetry nights, which she attended religiously, pouring her heart into what became a collection of poems that she turned into a book.

A Journey Within The Tuscan Hills is Taydem’s poetic narrative of her time in Cortona, in which she fleshes out her memories into indelible poems. Her poem about imperfections speaks to the parts of us that we try to hide from society, and the part that prefers to play it safe. Many people are deterred from studying abroad because it requires venturing out of your comfort zone and going out of your way to experience something different. 

When asked what advice she had to offer students thinking about studying abroad, Taydem immediately said, “Don’t be afraid to do it. As a first-time traveller, this was all very new to me, but there were a lot of people that helped — I highly recommend talking to professors and the program advisor.” 

For her, the most exciting part was getting to see the effects of her field of study in real life, in the architecture and history of Italian towns. Taydem got to go on regular field trips to nearby towns, her favourite being Ferrara, a city full of Renaissance-style buildings. “There was a castle with a moat, which I thought was the coolest thing on the face of the planet.” As she travelled around Italy, Taydem took with her an onion that she named Brenda, as a reminder to document her trip. 

Taydem explains that her time in Cortona has also shaped what she wants to do for her master’s degree in anthropology. As a public archaeologist with the Archaeological Society of ���ϲ�����, she is currently working on developing education programs that use archaeology to teach about culture and identity. She wants to focus on formulating creative portrayals of academic research, something that she noticed was rooted in Italian culture. Taydem could see this in Renaissance art, which is ingrained in mathematical and scientific research. She stresses the importance of using different mediums to share knowledge. 

Cortona was so special to Taydem that she decided to go back there for vacation with her best friend that same year, and then for a third time to complete the Spring Term in 2024! “It becomes home. While I was abroad it really did become home. Every time I've gone back it just felt so familiar. It's one of those towns where you can just walk around very easily.” Even her best friend could see the charm of the town that so easily drew Taydem in. “The first thing she said to me was ‘I know why you brought me here and why you talk about it so much’ — because she could see the connections that I got to make.”

What was initially a leap of faith for Taydem turned out to be one of the most memorable experiences of her life.