St. Lawrence’s Vienna Program: The Adventure, History and Legacy

Located at the very heart of central Europe, Vienna, Austria is one of the most historically and culturally important cities on Earth. In addition, Vienna is one of the most beautiful and livable cities.   

In the spring of 2023, I took a leap of faith, completely blew apart my comfort zone, and decided to fill out an application to study abroad in Vienna because I was influenced by a tall, stubborn Czech man who is good at rowing boats. For some context, I am from Lisbon, New York, which is about 20 minutes away from Canton. While it would have been nice to have only a 20-minute drive to campus and profit from the enormous “street cred” that comes with your father being the Dana baker, life can be quite bland here in corn and cattle. I had spent my entire life in this area and seldomly ventured outside of it. It is in this unworldly context that I present my comfort zone—a comfort zone that was first blown away when I decided to fill out the application for off-campus study approximately 36 hours before the February 1 deadline (which I do NOT condone). Due in part to the graciousness and support of many people, I was accepted to the Vienna program. Honestly, I did not know anything about the program other than what was listed on the Center for International and Intercultural Studies website. I also did not know I had made the best decision of my life.  

Fast forward to January 2024, my peers and I arrived in Vienna on a brisk, grey day. After touring the Austro-American Institute of Education and meeting some of the teachers for our four-month semester, I was lucky enough to have a few hours to wander the city. It was in these initial hours of experiencing Vienna that my world was, as a reoccurring event, blown wide open. Between the cobblestone streets and Roman ruins, sleek Porsches that rumbled down immaculate old-world avenues; the imperial eagles that adorned the copper roofs and ledges of palaces, the architectural magnificence of the 900-year-old St. Stephans Cathedral and the smells and looks of Austrian cafes, I had an intoxicating feeling of wonder and excitement that only grew as Vienna began to light up the night sky.  

The next morning, my peers and I boarded a private bus en route to Dorfgastein, a small ski town located in the heart of the picturesque Austrian Alps, the setting of our program orientation. During this week, we worked on our German skills because the language is an academic requirement of the Vienna program. When not practicing our Deutsch, many of my peers took to the slopes. For non-skiers such as myself, there was much time to hike, explore, befriend the locals and vacationers, and immerse ourselves in Austrian culture. After one week in alpine paradise, we left Dorfgastein bound for Salzburg, a picture-perfect alpine mountain city, to see Mozart’s birthplace. We then returned to Vienna to meet our host families and begin our academic semester.   

After reviewing decades worth of The Hill News articles and Gridiron editions, I recognized that the Vienna program hasn’t changed much at its core since 1972 with stunning commonalities that have withstood the test of time. Available only for the spring semester, Vienna is a comprehensive study-abroad program that, in my opinion, is an invaluable experience to embark on. As mentioned before, students are required to take a German language class as well as an Austrian culture class during the off-campus study semester. As for electives, there is a wide array of classes spanning from history, art and architecture, music, government, economics and psychology.   

One unique aspect of this program is the hands-on learning approach, wherein each class takes a field trip nearly every week. For example, in one psychology course students got to visit Sigmund Freud’s house, and in another economics course my peers got to sit at OPEC headquarters.  

In addition to class-specific field trips, the Vienna program offers many other excursions around Austria and Europe throughout the duration of the semester. Upon the completion of midterms in early March, a one-week long field trip takes students from the red-brick streets and salt mines of Krakow to the rebuilt old-town and ornate porcelain culture of Dresden before exploring the stunning Bohemian atmosphere of Prague. In April, there is another weeklong excursion to the leafy streets of Zagreb, the lovely city of Ljubljana, the depths of the Postojna caves, and the cafes of Trieste. In addition to these excursions, there is also a day trip to a countryside chateau, an imperial hunting lodge, and a casual rafting trip in a national park. Lastly, a day trip to the wine country is taken at the end of the semester as a celebration.  

Another core part of the Vienna program is the residence with host families. Through a pairing process, students are matched with host families located in various parts of the city, usually not more than 20 to 30 minutes from the Austro-American Institute of Education. It is with host families that students can become further immersed in Vienna, learn its language, history, politics, world-renowned culture and visit all the secret spots a tourist would ordinarily walk past to make local friends. My host, Jeff, a long-time contributor to the Vienna Program even visited campus this past year!  

Most academic weeks are only four days long, leaving students with an extra day on the weekends to explore. As a result of this and the extraordinary European transportation system, students spend a lot of time traveling around Europe without breaking the bank (unless they go to Switzerland). There is also a weeklong spring break where many cohorts vacation together somewhere in the Mediterranean. All in all, I traveled to six additional countries and two regions in Austria during my semester. Many of my peers were able to do the same. Even if you don’t have the financial means or want to travel, Vienna offers more than enough to fill all of your spare time.   

Though the core of the program has remained unchanged since its founding, each new group gets to have a unique experience in Vienna as the geopolitical climate of the city changes over time. In a 1991 article submitted to THN, students in the program made many comments on studying and touring Europe during the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, giving a certain character to their semester. The cohorts prior to my group had to deal with COVID-19. During my tenure, Europe was—and still is—facing a serious energy crisis, mainly due to the war in Ukraine and the lack of Russian oil. Thus, throughout our semester, we had to be seriously energy conscious, closing doors, keeping lights off, taking short showers, and shutting windows. I think we all take these resources for granted on campus in Canton.   

For me, Vienna was nothing short of a once-in-a-lifetime adventure —one that I could confidently turn into an award-winning movie script. However, I think the bigger picture here is the value of studying off-campus, wherever that may be. Nearly two-thirds of SLU students study abroad, and for a good reason: this opportunity to see and do things they would never ordinarily do, to be pushed outside of their comfort zones and grow exponentially are rarely so convenient in life. This is a chance that seldom do many people have access to, and fewer still take it. Regardless of your situation or where you may want to venture, my advice is to take the leap and study abroad. SLU will help you do it, and you won’t regret it. No offense to Billy Joel, but I don’t believe that Vienna is waiting. It is only there for those who seize it!