Explore Florence, Italy with World Class Programs

I was able to learn so much through this program, and was able to totally expand my horizons. I was really worried about what college would be like with dorm living before this trip, but I was able to learn so much about what that would be like through this experience. If you are looking for a true dorm living and study abroad experience, this is the program for you! The memories that you will make will last a life time, and is truly the most rewarding part of the whole experience. The staff are so kind, and make this experience so enjoyable. This program is life changing, and very unique. I would recommend it to anyone in high school, as it truly expands the standard school style. Loved this program so much, do it if you can!

After completing the Florence 2021 trip, I strongly urge those interested to attend. Whether experiencing the rich culture, amazing museums, or delicious foods, we got to experience life as a Florence native. Alongside classes and group activities, we had the opportunity to explore the city or relax during the generous amount of hours of free time. My favorite aspect of this trip has to be the various day trips visiting other cities. Although focused in Florence, we were able to familiarize ourselves with many other key Italian cities. Lastly, I want to thank Katherine, Derek, and all the teachers, for their commitment to keeping this program both fun and formative. I am so excited to attend another World Class Programs Trip!

From the moment I was accepted to the Florence/Italy program, I had a great feeling about my upcoming adventure. The memories and friendships I’ve made wall traveling are something I hold close to my heart! The staff are so incredibly kind, I dislike calling them staff because they more felt like friends during this trip than a authoritarian figure. I truly believe about this program changed my life especially after attending philosophy class with Derek. We took ideas, beliefs, ideologies, and what we believe or considered the good was in the world and compared it, to say the least the conversation never stops in that class!!!! Another life changing experience was attending churches and museums with the fine art and drawing teacher Katherine, we spent much of our time exploring the city to do live figure drawing and architectural landscape drawing. One of my favorite classes we did was at Santa Croce, it is famously known for the vibrant and decadent stain-glass windows; after a brief history lesson in a little studying of the stain-glass windows we successfully produced beautiful watercolor Stainglass window paintings! If you are interested in art and enjoy challenging your skills to improve them I recommend this class 100%. Safety was never in question, I never felt unsafe once in the city (Florence) because of the local guide/tuscan cuisine teacher Vieri. I can wholeheartedly say I have never met such a kind person in my life, going above and beyond every cooking class to make sure we enjoy and learn wall creating every single meal. Unfortunately I couldn’t take every single class offered by the world class team, so I was not able to take photography taught by Abby. From the moment I met her she has been so kind and fun every moment I spent with her, we mostly just screaming about all the cute dogs we saw well venturing through train station, city’s and in stores! It got to a point where if we saw a dog outside of the apartment we would send photos of it to each other!!!!! Honestly you would think 10 girls in a apartment by themselves would get in to drama or cat fights, there was never a single moment when we weren’t laughing uncontrollably about thing that crossed are way. There was never a moment I felt homesick or sad while traveling, because of the family I made here with the staff and new lifelong friends around me. In complete honesty sitting here writing my review I still can’t believe it’s been three weeks, and I did not just get of the plain yesterday. After having such a wonderful experience with World Class Program I hope to attend another one of their programs next summer!!!!

I originally signed up for the two-week program but halfway through I switched to the three-week program because I was having so much fun. I had so much fun getting to know the other people on the program, and the classes were a blast. My favorite class was art history because I learned so many random facts that I cant wait to flex on my family. My second favorite class was photography because it was a great way to see the city and get some great pictures, it was also the most fun class because I got to get to know my classmates, It didn't really feel like the class but I now know way more about my camera than I ever thought that class would teach me. My third favorite class was Tuscan Cusine, it was a very chaotic class but the payoff was worth it! we got to make some of the best food I've ever made. The weekend trips were so fun, riding bikes on the city walls of Luca truly fulfilled the sound of music dreams I didn't know I had. The staff is some of my favorite people ever, everyone made me feel safe, valued, and engaged. I would definitely recommend this program to all my friends because it was the best 3 weeks of my summer for so many reasons.

This program was great! The staff was amazing and answered any and every question I had. They had many connections which made the experience even greater. We got to see many of the tourist spots throughout Italy and more. The classes were very engaging. I took art history, and we got to go to many churches and museums. When we weren’t in classes we got to have free time in Florence to roam the city, as long as we stayed within our boundaries. Florence felt very safe and there was a lot to see. This program was excellent and was a great experience, I highly recommend it to everyone.

As the first time away from family World Class Programs made it amazing. I was able to learn so much and the teachers are great at what they do and are fun to be with. It felt like we were actually living in Itlay and not just tourists. We got to go, do and eat many different things from different places. It is super safe and you stay in small groups and learn you learn the city very well. It is the best for learning and growing as a person; it is so worth it and makes me want to go back to Italy.

From the moment I read about this program, I knew it was going to be something special. Right away, the staff/program organizers were incredibly welcoming, helpful and kind. The application process was a breeze and super low stress even until the day I left. The experience was so amazing, something way better than you would get on any family or solo trip. As a history buff it was incredible to learn about the thousand year history that Italy has to offer, and the program director and art history teacher Derek Tano teaches with such passion it makes the experience ten times better. Every staff member has an incredible love and passion for not only the country and the classes they teach but the students as well. You know that they are all in it for the experience and teaching rather than money. You truly hit every incredible spot there is to see! Overall, it is easily the best thing I have done in my high school life so far and I would truly recommend it to anyone.

One of the instructors told me to write in my review that this program made my dreams come true, and though he was joking, I would be remiss if I did not admit it to be true. This was my second year of doing an academic summer program abroad, and this by far surpassed the last program. There were only two other students on the program with me, which was unusual for them, but this made the experience all the more enjoyable. The more intimate group was completed by three instructors, two of whom were full-time and all of whom were more fun than any teachers I've had so far. They did an excellent job of walking the line of both friend and instructor so that I felt both supervised and at ease around them. Though only there for two weeks, I found that I grew a lot as a person and conquered a lot of my fears, particularly socially. My one friend on the program even commented that I was much more confident than I had been previously that week. I tend to overanticipate things and come up with far too lofty ideals and this is one of the rare occasions in which all of my expectations were actually realised. This trip was transformative for me—and yes it did make my dreams come true.