In 2019, Parker Ahmad ’23 flew to Florence with her sister as a combined graduation/birthday gift for the both of them. In January of 2022, Parker returned to that very same city, this time to continue her studies for the Spring semester at Marist’s branch campus. Going back to Florence, Italy, the very same city she visited years ago felt like home. “I’ve always wanted to go abroad, but I was always a little nervous about being away from home for so long, so I wanted to go somewhere that I was familiar with. When I got to Florence, I was like, ‘Okay, well, this looks familiar, [that] looks familiar’, and I kind of felt a little bit more at home [and] at ease than if I jumped into somewhere that I had never been to before.” A new city comes with new opportunities. Parker has only been in Florence for only a month and half now, and the fashion merchandising major has already been able to jump right into the Italian fashion scene. In late February, she worked behind the scenes for a sh...