This past May, Integrated Information Technology rising senior Sean McGaha returned from a semester abroad better equipped to tackle the global business world. He spent the spring 2025 semester at Italy’s Florence University of the Arts, where he completed 12 hours of required coursework while gaining perspective in international business.

Studying abroad is not commonly pursued by engineering and computing students. According to the University of South Carolina’s Education Abroad Office, among the 1,934 students who studied abroad during the 2023-24 academic year, only 70 were from the Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing. However, the opportunity was a dream come true for McGaha.

“I never traveled much as a kid, so I really wanted to take the opportunity to expand my global view,” McGaha says. “I definitely achieved that and learned a lot about myself and the world around us in the process.”

McGaha attended the Florence University of the Arts through the Center for International Studies Abroad, an affiliate partner program where students can pursue their required coursework at the foreign host university of their choice. McGaha chose Florence because of his Italian roots: his father’s family is originally from Sicily and his mother’s family has ties to northern Italy.

He took four courses, marketing and management classes applicable to his business minor, as well as foundation of painting, and ethics and justice in food distribution systems, which fulfilled his art and ethics requirements, respectively. Unlike many of his lecture-based USC courses, McGaha’s classes in Florence were focused on group discussions and out-of-class experiences. In his free time, he traveled across Italy as well as to the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Spain, Denmark, Morocco and Vatican City.

“We visited many local businesses to learn about their marketing strategies and how they handle managerial tasks in the region,” McGaha says. “These experiences gave me a deeper understanding of cross-cultural connections and communicating effectively with colleagues from all over the globe.”

In addition to meeting his requirements for graduation, McGaha’s courses abroad were personally fulfilling. In ethics and justice in food systems, he learned about the importance of waste reduction in food distribution and was inspired to make a difference.

“Sean has been one of the most active students in my course. He listened carefully to lectures and participated in class discussions and in meetings with experts that visited us in class,” says Professor Valerina Faraoni, who taught the ethics and justice in food distribution systems course. “Most importantly, Sean applied what he learned to his daily life, telling me he reduced his food waste by a third. There is no better result for a teacher.”

But McGaha’s first trip abroad was not without its challenges. Despite an initial language barrier, he returned home with basic Italian conversational skills, which helped him navigate grocery stores, cafes and public transit systems. It’s an advantage he will use to market himself to prospective employers immersed in global markets. McGaha also learned to adapt to slower response times he often encountered regarding services and communication with professors. For example, repair work on his camera required more time than would have been expected in the U.S., and he found grading of his work to be slower, but with in-depth and valuable feedback.

Sean's active participation and consistent engagement reflected a clear dedication to learning. Participating in a study abroad opportunity developed valuable cross-cultural communication skills—an important asset for a successful career in the global field of information technology.

- Sharon Gumina, IIT Instructor

McGaha says that his experiences on campus at USC, such as group projects and collaboration with other students through the professional engineering fraternity Theta Tau and the Gamecock Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Club prepared him for his study abroad and beyond.

“Through these projects, I have learned how to work with a team and employ my strengths for the good of the group. These experiences, along with my technical skills, were adaptable to my experience abroad and will be later in the workplace as well,” he says.

As McGaha approaches his senior year, he is most interested in pursuing a career in data science, but appreciates that his USC training will apply to careers including web design, database management and software engineering. The combination of his education and study abroad experience have given him the technical and soft skills required for success in fast-paced, global markets.

“Traveling to other countries gave me an understanding of how different, but connected, this world is. Technology connects everyone across the globe,” McGaha says. “Being able to market myself as a student who put himself in a foreign country—and the soft skills such as adaptability and communication that go along with that—is advantageous.”