2008 Woodie Awards
Gonzaga-in-Florence
The Opinon of Senior Pete Murray
Pete Murray
Issue date: 10/1/05 Section: Opinion
How did your experience in Florence help you grow in your faith?
I'M NOT THE ONE TO ANSWER that question. Every Sunday, Fr. Bruno would do a relatively quick Mass and then he would feed us. He did a good job of making faith a part of the program but not forcing it on us. He made it more accessible to people and he made us really want to go to his Masses. The faith life is different than it is here. There is no big church to go to. And with traveling, it's even harder to get to Mass on Sunday.
What one thing should everyone do or not do?
As far as what people shouldn't do, I would say they shouldn't act like ignorant Americans. You have to embrace the culture. Immerse yourself in the people, the places and the food. Stay away from places like McDonalds and fancy American hotels. Try to live like a traveler. Be excited and open minded towards all of the different experiences. For me, I would have liked to travel more. With all that I learned traveling, I feel like I could do that for the rest of my life.
What is your take on recent and proposed changes to the program, administration, academic, and otherwise?
I hate talking about the politics involved. It's become absurd. If the administration wants a change, they should do it and quit beating around the bush. Wipe everybody out and get all new people in there if that's what they want. They need to say to us, "We want a change. We have new goals and this is how we are going to bring them about." They don't have a mission statement for Florence. They just abide by this campus' rules even though it's completely different over there. The focus is so ambiguous that it seems that we don't even know what we're trying to achieve over there. This could be fairly easily resolved and then we wouldn't have to worry about the political mess.
Overall, was it worth the effort and extra money?
Without a doubt.
I'M NOT THE ONE TO ANSWER that question. Every Sunday, Fr. Bruno would do a relatively quick Mass and then he would feed us. He did a good job of making faith a part of the program but not forcing it on us. He made it more accessible to people and he made us really want to go to his Masses. The faith life is different than it is here. There is no big church to go to. And with traveling, it's even harder to get to Mass on Sunday.
What one thing should everyone do or not do?
As far as what people shouldn't do, I would say they shouldn't act like ignorant Americans. You have to embrace the culture. Immerse yourself in the people, the places and the food. Stay away from places like McDonalds and fancy American hotels. Try to live like a traveler. Be excited and open minded towards all of the different experiences. For me, I would have liked to travel more. With all that I learned traveling, I feel like I could do that for the rest of my life.
What is your take on recent and proposed changes to the program, administration, academic, and otherwise?
I hate talking about the politics involved. It's become absurd. If the administration wants a change, they should do it and quit beating around the bush. Wipe everybody out and get all new people in there if that's what they want. They need to say to us, "We want a change. We have new goals and this is how we are going to bring them about." They don't have a mission statement for Florence. They just abide by this campus' rules even though it's completely different over there. The focus is so ambiguous that it seems that we don't even know what we're trying to achieve over there. This could be fairly easily resolved and then we wouldn't have to worry about the political mess.
Overall, was it worth the effort and extra money?
Without a doubt.