esn Urbino:
The evolution of the
erasmus experience
ESN Urbino is a student-focused organization that helps foreign students on study abroad programs, specifically through the Erasmus organization, find their footing in a new country.
A little background...
During the summer of 2023, I joined 27 students to study multimedia storytelling in Urbino, Italy, with iEiMedia. Our projects focused on stories from Urbino, with my group's specific topic on the people and community of the region. Each group would produce a documentary, an article, and a photo-story to be displayed on our website, also designed by students.
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Writing an article on ESN Urbino made perfect sense. Through my time in Urbino, I realized that the students made Urbino what it is: a college town with a rich history and kind people. I wanted to focus on how welcoming they were to foreign students, given that I was one.
A sneak peak
Urbino, Italy – Albano Nezho, an Italian student, stepped off the train on the first day of his study abroad program in Germany.
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“I was in the middle of Germany without [anyone] I know,” he said.
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“I was like, ‘Okay, now what?’”
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Just a day later Nezho found the cure for his anxiety: the Erasmus Student Network, or ESN.
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It was his experience in Germany that motivated him to join ESN Urbino when he returned.
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Erasmus is a program organized by the European Community (EC) to give university students opportunities to study abroad in 33 countries, most of which are members of the European Union but some also in Latin America and the Caribbean.
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Studying abroad can be daunting, but the Erasmus Student Network, or ESN, helps students dive into the culture with its mission of “students help students.”​