Microbiology labs aren’t the traditional setting for language learning—unless the lab is in Italy.
In most scientific laboratories, you’ll probably find lab coats, microscopes, flasks and beakers, various chemicals, and maybe even a
fresh pair of goggles. But when undergrad Kayla Stephensen (Biology, Italian ’25) started her internship in a lab in Italy, she had to use a tool not often found in a traditional lab: foreign language skills. Having studied Italian for years, Stephensen found her internship abroad enlightening as it not only gave her experience in a lab setting but also taught her an important lesson on learning a new language—especially when faced with the unknown.
Making Italy Her Classroom
Stephensen first learned Italian while serving a mission in Italy. There, she developed a passion for the language and, once back at BYU, joined the Italian minor. It was in these classes that Stephensen first heard of internship programs abroad. Hoping to return to Italy and pick up her language study where she had left off, Stephensen began emailing the Italian Department’s internship contact and eventually received a spot interning in northeast Rome in one of Italy’s national labs: the National Council of Research.
Once in Italy, Stephensen began her trip touring Rome alongside eight other BYU students who had been selected to intern at various companies and businesses around the city. After a week of exploring as a group, they each started their internships. Though Stephensen had studied Italian for years and felt very comfortable speaking it in the classroom, life in the lab wasn’t quite what she expected. She says, “[Until] the first day, I did not realize how much technical Italian I did not know. I thought I was good at Italian, [but] it was like drinking from a fire hose.”
Though she found her internship trying at times, she did not give up; instead, Stephensen pushed herself to keep improving her Italian, and with each new test and concept she encountered, her language skills grew. As she expanded her vocabulary, increased her studies on foreign concepts, and practiced speaking at every chance she could, Stephensen noticed a change. She says, “I was a little nervous that I’d be way too underqualified for literally everything, but I understood a lot of it.” This understanding took time and required she first come to accept that she did not know everything. By the end of her internship, she could speak to her coworkers with greater confidence and more thoroughly understand the tests she performed in the lab.
Outside of the lab, Stephensen also traveled around Italy alongside students from the Kennedy Center’s Italy study abroad, giving her a taste of the culture and history behind the people and country she saw. She says, “I would be immersed in all this science Italian [in the lab] and then be learning about all this art and history [in] Italian.” Seeing these two views of Italian language and culture in very different environments, she continues, “There’s something really valuable in marrying STEM and humanities in this way—it’s a good balance.”
Coming to Embrace the Unknown
Though her internship only lasted two months, Stephensen hopes to incorporate much of what she learned, both professionally and personally, in her life. In her eyes, one of the most important takeaways was coming to embrace not having all the answers and, instead, choosing to be in constant pursuit of them. While conducting tests on various biodegradable fabrics—and even helping to create them—Stephensen became familiar and comfortable with asking questions, asking for help, and acknowledging when she didn’t understand. She says, “There’s something really, really valuable about doing a field I’m pretty familiar with in another language; there’s a certain amount of humility that I probably wouldn’t have had if I was in America, or somewhere that speaks English. It forced me to ask a lot of questions.”
Despite the many learning curves associated with both using Italian and working in an unfamiliar lab, Stephensen came to recognize her capacity for growth amidst the most daunting of tasks. Though this second visit to Italy was very different than her first, Stephensen feels grateful for having the opportunity to combine two of her personal interests. She says, “I got to go and speak this language that I love so much and be in the context of science, which I also love so much. I can’t even think of a downside to it.”
Find a way to use your Italian language skills in a personalized internship here.