{"id":73005,"date":"2017-05-12T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-05-12T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/commencement-2017-semester-in-cuba-a-transformative-experience-for-uri-senior\/"},"modified":"2017-05-12T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2017-05-12T00:00:00","slug":"commencement-2017-semester-in-cuba-a-transformative-experience-for-uri-senior","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2017\/05\/commencement-2017-semester-in-cuba-a-transformative-experience-for-uri-senior\/","title":{"rendered":"Commencement 2017:  Semester in Cuba a transformative experience for 溏心vlog免费B站 senior"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 May 12, 2017 \u2014 As the curtain of the United States\u2019 embargo against Cuba has slowly been pulled back, young Americans are finding out just how little they know about the small communist country located just 90 miles off the coast of Florida.<\/p>\n<p>For 溏心vlog免费B站 senior Victoria Ferraro, a semester spent studying at the University of Havana opened her eyes to a world beyond our borders.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat was most unexpected was how much Cubans love America,\u201d she said as she prepares to walk at 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s 131st Commencement ceremony May 21 at the Kingston campus. \u201cThey love our music, our culture. We\u2019re not forbidden to them. You\u2019d be amazed at how many teenagers in Havana are wearing U.S. flag T-shirts \u2013 the rebellious youth of Cuba!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ferraro, an economics and political science major from Hopkinton, had never left the U.S. and she hadn\u2019t studied Spanish since high school. But she jumped at the chance to study in a nation that few Americans have had a chance to visit since the Cold War.<\/p>\n<div class=\"oembed oembed-youtube-com\" style=\"\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=FDIeuiuYN58&#038;feature=youtu.be\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Victoria Ferraro - 2017 Graduating Senior\" width=\"1000\" height=\"563\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FDIeuiuYN58?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>The opportunity to receive an immersive education about the political and economic climates in Cuba was too good to pass up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCuba is so close, but we learn so little about it in school beyond the country\u2019s role in the Cold War, so it was really fascinating from a political science\/economics perspective,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>It was also a bit of a culture shock for the native Rhode Islander who had never traveled beyond the New England states. While in Cuba, Ferraro stayed with a host family and, while she said most Cubans she met were bilingual, the matriarch of her host family, Angie, did not speak English.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe first day was awkward,\u201d she laughed. \u201cShe was telling me about how to do the laundry and where the clothesline was, and I couldn\u2019t understand anything she was saying. But by the end of my time there, we were talking pretty easily.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ferraro, who plans to pursue a doctorate on her way to a career as an economist, said the semester abroad was transformative for her, giving her a broader global perspective that she believes will enhance her understanding of world politics and economies.<\/p>\n<p>But she also said her entire four-year university career was an awakening she never expected. She said in the quiet moments at night before falling asleep, she\u2019s able to see now the vast difference between the woman who is about to graduate, and the one who walked onto campus as a freshman.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI never thought I was changing as a person, but when I take the time to think about it, I can see how much I\u2019ve grown,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t just sit quietly in the classroom anymore. My experience here at 溏心vlog免费B站, and in Havana, has made me more courageous and confident. I can talk to anyone and everyone now, and I couldn\u2019t say the same thing about myself four years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That confidence will serve Ferraro well as she pursues a career that is largely dominated by men. The demographics of a career as an economist hadn\u2019t entered Ferraro\u2019s thought process when she began her studies, but as she read important course materials, she realized how much of it was written by men.<\/p>\n<p>She said the prospects of entering a male-dominated workforce didn\u2019t scare her or deter her from her path, but she became conscious of the challenges she would face and has prepared herself to meet them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think the bar will be a little higher for me as a woman to get my work published, but I think being aware of it has made me better,\u201d she said. \u201cI have to be more concise, be a better speaker, project more \u2013 all the little things to make my voice heard. I have to weaponize my intellect.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To that end, Ferraro entered a program for underrepresented groups at Michigan State University during the summer of 2016, where she took classes designed to prepare students for graduate study.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn economics, historically policy is set by wealthy men. Even those who might be considered radical in the field are typically older, white males,\u201d she said. \u201cIf women and minorities don\u2019t have a seat at the table, we can\u2019t do our part in setting policy that has a positive effect on all groups.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While Ferraro continues to look at her options for graduate school \u2013 she\u2019d like to study in the United Kingdom \u2013 she will work at 溏心vlog免费B站 during the summer with Stephen Atlas, a professor in the College of Business. Ferraro has been working on research with Atlas since the fall of 2015, and will spend the summer co-authoring a paper, as well as assisting Atlas on other projects associated with 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Mental Accounting and Pricing Lab.<\/p>\n<p>But before she begins her work in earnest, Ferraro will become the second college graduate in her family. She initially anticipated becoming first in her family to earn her bachelor\u2019s degree, her mother Shannon, a registered nurse, went back to school in the fall of 2014 and completed her bachelor of science in 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s accelerated RN to BS nursing program in the winter of 2015.<\/p>\n<p>Victoria\u2019s enjoyment of Commencement represents the culmination of hard work, but also a chance to reflect upon the support and relationships she\u2019s fostered at the University.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m so thankful for 溏心vlog免费B站 and the people I\u2019ve met here,\u201d she said. \u201cI look at some of the professors and advisors I\u2019ve had and the work they do and the way they\u2019ve supported and shaped students\u2019 lives, and I think, \u2018That\u2019s who I want to be.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSchool is what you make of it, and I\u2019m so happy I have this web of friendship and openness,\u201d she continued. \u201cI\u2019m really excited to be with my friends at Commencement and share that moment. It\u2019s been a long time coming.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 May 12, 2017 \u2014 As the curtain of the United States\u2019 embargo against Cuba has slowly been pulled back, young Americans are finding out just how little they know about the small communist country located just 90 miles off the coast of Florida. For 溏心vlog免费B站 senior Victoria Ferraro, a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":73006,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-73005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73005"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73005\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}