Thanksgiving Day 2023 is one that Penn State York students Olivia Miles and Abby Snyder will not forget. They spent 10 days, including Thanksgiving, in Florence, Italy, as part of a human development and family studies course, Understanding the Italian Family: Historical and Cultural Context (HDFS 499). 

Studies in Florence, as the course is commonly referred to, included weekly Zoom meetings and the 10-day trip to Italy. The course was open to any student at Penn State and was taught and organized by Robin Yaure and Robyn Chotiner, faculty members at Penn State Mont Alto. The course was offered though the Digital Learning Cooperative, which allows students to take classes online at any Penn State campus.