The winner of the $3,000 ICC Study Abroad Program scholarship is Magdalena (Lena) Schroeder, a sophomore majoring in Mathematics and Italian Studies at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Lena's first experience with Italian culture and language occurred early in life when she lived in Austria with her family. Later exposures to Italy ultimately led to her decision to study Italian at the U of M. There, she has actively worked to improve her skills, going to conversation hours, skyping with a native Italian through the Tandem program, and listening to Italian music.

She also hopes to work at Concordia's Lago del Bosco Italian immersion camp this summer. She sings with an a cappella group on campus and serves as an officer. In her free time, she loves playing soccer and is an avid fan of Arsenal FC. She is thrilled to be going back to Europe, where soccer is a big deal. Lena will be studying at the University of Bologna for the 2016-17 academic year. She is planning to take courses in math history, linguistics, and political science. We congratulate Lena and look forward to reading about her learning adventures in Italy that will be posted regularly on our website! Bravissima!

Source: Italian Cultural Center of Minneapolis