When Paul Giliberto, ’27, sat down at the table for a meal of Bryndzové Halušky—a small mountain of potato dumplings covered in a creamy cheese sauce and topped with crispy chopped bacon, a hearty meal prized as the national dish of Slovakia— he felt keenly just how far he was from The Citadel campus he calls home.
A finance major from Rocky Hill, Connecticut, Giliberto spent the semester studying at the University of Pécs in Pécs, Hungary. Among the first Citadel students to study there, Giliberto enjoyed cultural immersion at a university that boasts a history spanning more than 650 years and a large international population.
While Giliberto took courses on topics such as international economics, corporate finance, investments and operations management, he also learned from peers hailing from India, Bangladesh, Italy and France, among many other countries. “I’m able to meet people who are doing the same kind of work that I am, but in all different parts of the world,” said Giliberto. “It’s been an awesome networking opportunity. The best part of this experience has been meeting all of these new people.”
Alongside engaging with a vibrant international community, Giliberto took every opportunity to explore the region, traveling to Budapest, the capital of Hungary, as well as Slovakia, Croatia, Sweden and elsewhere. “This travel has opened my eyes. I’ve never been to this part of the world before, and it’s squashed the preconceived notions that I had about Eastern Europe,” said Giliberto. “These are the friendliest people I’ve ever met.”
For Giliberto, encountering new cultural perspectives has helped redefine the way he sees the world around him. “The world is much bigger than we can see,” said Giliberto. “As Americans, we can have a narrow view of the world. Studying abroad has expanded everything that I thought I knew and fostered a new curiosity about how the world really works.”