Our trip is quickly coming to an end. Today we had our last class of the trip, everyone was devastated. The final group presentation ended with Roman materials looking into the Pantheon and Colosseum, reminding us of where we started entering this trip. We were tasked to give a one-minute elevator speech in front of the class. Many of us reflected on how this opportunity developed cultural awareness and how engineering has shaped culture throughout history. We have grown together and truly become a Tommie family with a number of us noting how building these connections have provided a space to foster a welcoming supportive environment for diverse levels of engineering backgrounds. Perhaps one of the most important connections is from Vitruvius and how engineering incorporates strength, beauty, and utility. Strength and utility are often emphasized in modern engineering contexts; this trip has allowed us to have concrete context of how beauty is an equally important consideration. To finish our last class Claudio, our guide and trip coordinator, gave a crash course in some Italian history and day trip options for our weekend.

After our class we had our version of The Last Supper, obviously inspired by our trip to Milan this last Wednesday, but because we are original creative thinkers we had The Last Lunch. It was a brilliant time where we were able to share a meal and memories with the whole group before going off the rest of our day and weekend to small group adventures.

After our lovely meal we broke into small groups. Some beginning weekend travels north and others of us taking the opportunity to continue exploring Florence. We experienced some grey skies and drizzling weather, some of the limited not as ideal weather of the trip. However this clearly provided a great opportunity to observe some stormwater management in Florence. Or perhaps a good excuse to find a cozy restaurant to have dinner in, or explore the spa at the hotel.

Thank you to our amazing Tommie family for a fantastic journey and great company! I hope everyone stays safe and has lots of fun on their weekend exploration before our flight on Monday. Don’t forget to enjoy some gelato before departing for the States. Anyone else thinking of a five-year reunion in Italy?

Ciao,

McKernan Boland