Need advice pertaining to your language degree? These four BYU Italian alumni shared their perspectives and counsel for current language students.
In a stage of life fraught with important decisions, most college students appreciate any advice and direction that alumni can provide. Four BYU Italian alumni, who made it successfully through their undergraduate education, offered current students their insights during an alumni panel hosted by the French & Italian Department on January 22, 2026. They shared how their language studies enriched their educational experience and helped them build skills that have reached beyond their undergraduate study.
Taking Advantage Now
During the Zoom discussion, the alumni spoke about their experiences in BYU’s Italian program. Austin Hansen (Italian Studies ’24) appreciated the tight-knit atmosphere and said that the size of the program means “you get a really high-quality mentorship experience.” Robert Larsen (Italian ’24) has found that “the intimacy of the Italian [program] lasts long after your undergrad.” Larsen still reaches out to his mentors and professors for letters of recommendation or advice, and “they’re always willing to help me,” he said.
Hansen also appreciated the opportunity he had to serve in BYU’s Italian Association presidency. “There aren’t many colleges in the United States that have an Italian club like this,” he said, describing the unique events and experiences that the club organizes, such as gelato night, BYU Eurovision, and more. Hansen encouraged students to “find ways to engage with Italian outside of class. Don’t just treat it as a major or just a minor, but make it a part of your life.”
For Emma Stucki (Microbiology ’21), who graduated from BYU with a minor in Italian, making Italian a part of her life also meant pursuing different interests through her coursework. She advised students, “Take the classes [with the subject matter] that you want to learn about, because after you enter the real world, there’s less time to pursue those passions.”
Translating Language Skills
All three of these alumni also participated in internships with the Italian program which greatly enhanced their language abilities. Larsen said his internship with a law firm in Rome was fantastic because of the communication skills he acquired from that experience. Currently a law student at the University of Utah, he appreciates “the attention to detail you get from learning how to write in a second language.”
For their internships, Stucki and Hansen both assisted at a dental clinic in Italy, providing resources for immigrants and refugees. Stucki, who will soon graduate from medical school at Washington State University, said, “Four years down the road, I’m applying to residency, and people are still asking me about those [internship] experiences.” During her internship, she became adept at learning by doing and getting comfortable jumping in “even when I didn’t have all the skills or know exactly how things worked,” she said.
Hansen is now in his second year of medical school at the University of Rochester. He said that learning to express complicated concepts in a second language was “an amazing outcome of studying and engaging with Italian” at BYU. Doing so, he said, “made me more precise in English, and has made me more thoughtful as well.”
Isaac Wheeler (Chemical Engineering ’21), who is working on a PhD in engineering at Purdue University, also valued the communication skills that he developed through his minor in Italian and his experience as a Fulbright scholar in Italy. “No matter what you do, you’re going to need to communicate with people. You’re going to need to connect to people,” he said.
Each alum agreed that choosing to study Italian at BYU shaped their undergraduate experiences, skills, and career trajectory for the better. Larsen spoke for each alum when he said, “You'll never regret majoring or minoring in Italian.”
Click here to learn more about Italian undergraduate studies at BYU.