“I always say I love gossip, and history is just 300-year-old gossip,” says Isabella Agudelo, a student at The American University of Florence (AUF). Agudelo is pursuing an Art History degree and preparing for her final months at AUF. Graduating a semester early, and finishing up classes in December, Agudelo reflects on her choice three years ago to move to Florence, Italy, the birthplace of the Renaissance, to study art movements and their history. 

For most of high school, Agudelo wasn’t even considering art history, saying she took STEM-heavy courses and was seriously considering environmental science. “I was really passionate about climate change and things like that…but after a few trips to Europe when I was a kid, I've had this passion for history and art as well, I never really thought it could have been a full-fledged career,” Agudelo explains. Not unrelated to STEM, Agudelo says, “the main thing that really got me passionate about history, and art history, was the idea of conservation."

Agudelo’s travels to Europe when she was younger were where she truly began to discover her passion for museums and art. She references a trip to Europe at seven years old that was especially inspiring, “We went into just a couple museums, but every single one, I was just soaking it up, I could not get enough…” Recalling another trip, she remembers visiting the Louvre in Paris. “We spent two full days in just the Louvre because I begged my mom to go back a second day because we didn't see it all. I soaked in every single word, every picture frame, every paintbrush. I could not get enough,” she recounts.

Not only does Agudelo enjoy the study of art, but she also creates it herself. Ever since her trip to the Louvre during her early teen years, she has been drawing and painting. “I begged my mom to buy me a little notebook and some pencil crayons so I could start practicing,” she says.

Agudelo believes that there would have been a lingering what if? if she chose not to pursue a degree she was passionate about. Regardless of her career 180, Agudelo has zero regrets, stating, “It definitely was a decision that I'm really confident in now, and that I'm really glad I took.” She still sees some irony in the situation however, “If my high school history teacher learned that I was studying history now in university, he'd probably laugh in my face…”

Pursuing her degree in Florence at AUF has its advantages, and living in a city overflowing with history allows for uniquely immersive experiences. Agudelo volunteers at the Amici de Musée which she says allows her to work with Italians who have a real passion for art history. She was already fluent in Spanish which aided in her language learning but volunteering and speaking with the Italians at the museum were tantamount to being comfortable in speaking conversationally. 

Moving for university wasn’t Agudelo’s first trip to Florence, but when thinking back to her first day living in the city three years ago, Agudelo recounts her excitement for her new home. “I was just walking around the streets with my suitcases, knowing that this was going to be my home for the next few years, I feel like I saw the city in a completely different light. Like everything looked sparkly or shinier, the Arno just looked extra blue. And I was like, Oh, this is so beautiful. I'm so hyped. I'm so ready…” she explains.

Spring 2025 was Agudelo’s final semester before beginning work on her thesis. With her graduation in December, she is hoping to attend graduate school either immediately afterwards, or gain some internship experience. Agudelo would like to stay in Florence, saying “Ideally, I would [like to stay] just because I feel like I got so used to Florence and it's such the place that I want to be for what I'm studying and what I want to work with.”

With her upcoming degree, Agudelo’s plans are to work with art or in a museum in “any capacity” she says. A true appreciator of all things arts, Agudelo’s last-minute decision to study in Florence was the right choice for her.