FYA Feature: Mary Jolly Talks Sports, Travel

FYA (First Year Abroad) Feature is a series of profiles on the diverse group of FSU study abroad students who are currently spending their first year abroad in Florence, Italy. As freshmen, FYAs make the decision to spend three semesters living in Spain, Italy, England, or Panama, before ever living in Tallahassee. Those FYAs that complete three semesters and maintain the required GPA qualify for in-state tuition for the remainder of their undergraduate coursework at FSU.

Mary Jolly hails from Califon, New Jersey. She has diverse interests, from sports, to beer, to tattoos, to history. Her interest in history will likely lead her to work for the U.S. government in order to utilize her unique understanding of humanity and its past.

Mary Jolly and friend, Eilish Mendonca on bikes in Munich, Germany.

Question (Q): Having grown up in New Jersey, it must have been a difficult decision to travel hundreds of miles to go to school in Florida. What made you decide to go to FSU?

Mary Jolly (MJ): Honestly, it was the abroad program, because if you maintain the 3.0 GPA over your three semesters abroad you get in-state tuition for the rest of your Florida State career. Originally, I was banking on going south because I was tired of the cold winters of New Jersey. My dream school didn’t end up working out for me and I didn’t want to go into a quarter million dollars of debt for undergrad.

Q: Why are you majoring in history and what field are you interested in?

MJ: Personally, I love learning about American history but I’m interested in most history. I like classics, but I’m more interested in Medieval and post-Renaissance western history. I chose history because history majors with good research skills fill a lot of government jobs. I could see myself possible in the CIA or the NSA because it’s intriguing and I watch a lot of crime shows that take place in DC.

Q: What’s your favorite crime show?

MJ: Currently, Rizzoli and Isles, which is about a Boston cop and a medical examiner and their bickering friendship. Also, Covert Affairs, which was about a CIA agent.

Q: Can you tell me a little about your involvement in sports and why they’re important to you?

MJ: I’m a big sports fan. I was a three-sport athlete in high school: I did soccer in the fall, winter track, and spring track, as well as travel soccer. My brothers and Dad all play soccer. It’s a big part of my relationship with my family. It’s how my brothers and I bond, and my Dad’s English, so soccer was a big part of his life. He passed it on to me and my siblings. It’s also where I found a lot of my friendships in school.

Q: How did you find out about the abroad program?

MJ: There was actually a girl in my town who was a junior at FSU that did the program her freshman year and spent her first two semesters in Valencia and her summer in Florence, so I heard about it from her.

Q: What surprised you the most about your experience?

MJ: Well, I’m not a very social person, so it surprised me at first how easy it was to make friends. Because when you’re all thrown into a new country, you bond really quickly. Besides that, I was surprised about how easy it was to get used to the city. Obviously you’re very frightened about going across the world, but the city is easy to navigate and it’s a very touristy and friendly city. You don’t really run into that much trouble. Also, how cheap everything is compared to home. You can get a whole pizza for 5 euro. In general, it’s just amazing how much freedom you get.

Q: What is your favorite place you’ve visited?

MJ: Within Italy, definitely the Amalfi coast, which was one of my first big trips. I did it with Bus2Alps, which is one of the travel companies. You stay in a hostel in Sorrento and then take a bus down to Amalfi and spend the day on the coast, which is like a stony, black sand beach with beautiful turquoise water. You just spend the day at the beach, go in the water, sunbathe, sleep. The second day, you go to Capri and explore the island… then you go to the top of the mountain. It was beautiful. On the last day, we stopped in Pompeii and saw the city and ate really good pizza. That was my favorite trip in Italy.

Q: Out of Italy?

MJ: I really liked Nice and Amsterdam. I’m a history major so I really enjoyed the history there, especially seeing the Anne Frank house.

Q: What is your favorite part of your experience?

MJ: I guess the travel. It’s an awesome benefit with your schedule, since we have Fridays off it makes it really easy to travel. The planned trips are included in the tuition and those are really cool. But once you’re in Europe it’s pretty easy and affordable to travel.

Q: What is the best thing about being an FYA?

MJ: Honestly, the friendships. You have this experience with a select group of people that you bond with and carry back to Tallahassee. It’s an awesome experience. The city is amazing, and you fall in love with it.

Q: What do you wish you knew before studying abroad?

MJ: Well, we found out when we got back that not only can you change your location for the summer, you can actually spend your spring semester in a different place. Another thing is that a lot of the textbooks are in the library and in the apartment, because people leave their books here.

Q: Do you have any advice to offer to future FYAs?

MJ:

• When packing, try not to over pack.
• Make sure you bring a nice outfit for going out or even going to a nice dinner.
•  Save a lot of money, because you don’t realize how fast you will go through it, especially while travelling.
• If you’re iffy on going somewhere, definitely go. You don’t want to regret not going. In the long run, that extra money you spent to go somewhere for the weekend won’t matter when you have amazing memories to look back on.
•  Don’t be afraid to treat yourself. Buy the leather jacket, or nice shoes. It’s great to bring back presents for family and friends, but it’s your experience too.
• Make sure to put photos on Facebook and update them on what you’re doing. My family loves seeing all the photos I post.
• Keep a journal!