At Loyola Rome, students make connections across universities and cultures
November 11, 2026
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At Loyola Rome, in a residence hall located high on Monte Mario in Rome’s Balduina district, Layla Akins (BS ’29) shares a room with Loyola Marymount University student and California native Joss Tramel. There, they study and live among Ramblers and visiting students from other universities. Over the past several months, the two have bonded while sharing Italian street food like suppli, playing Italian card games, and exploring the country together.
The roommates share a slice of their life from Rome:
What drew you to the academic program?
Akins: I really wanted to have the opportunity to experience a different culture in a way that was immersive. I knew all the financial aspects and all the teaching aspects would be covered, and it just sounded like a really great opportunity to get to experience Italy, which is such a diverse place.
Tramel: I also wanted the immersive experience of being in a smaller town. We’re here in Balduina, whereas my program for Loyola is in Florence, which is a lot more touristy. And so, I get the best of both worlds, being in Italy, but being in a smaller area. I experience it more like a local.
How would you describe the community at Loyola Rome?
Tramel: As someone who came in from a completely different school, not knowing anyone, it has been pretty amazing, and I think that’s a lot easier with a smaller campus, because there’s so many familiar faces. It felt easier to make friends, because it felt like not everyone had a group yet. Coming in and being able to meet all these new people at the same time, and then having all these people in multiple classes—because our classes are small—reinforces those friendships and those relationships.
Akins: A lot of the friends that I have ended up making here [are from Loyola University Chicago] just because there are so many of us. But I will say, I’ve met so many different majors. A lot of nursing students love to come here since we have a nursing program. I’ve never really had the opportunity to interact with them before. I met a lot of business majors, economics majors, who are here to learn more about international business. It’s been really interesting to get to hear their perspectives on certain issues.
Tramel: Our resident directors have played the biggest roles [helping provide stability to the community] in the sense that they are leaders as well as people we go to for any sort of concern. Getting to go on this [Calabria] trip with our resident directors helped to build those relationships even more. Now, not only did I have a friendly face because of the trip, I have a friendly face anytime I have a question about anything, whether that’s school- or life-related.
Akins: Our resident directors, especially the ones that we went to Calabria with, are so kind and so helpful. I feel like I can go to them with any question. You go to them [and ask], “I want to go on a trip to Bologna. What should I do?” And they’ll give you a whole list of stuff that is so long that you’ll never finish any of it.
What is your favorite thing to do with friends when you have free time?
Akins: I think we spend a lot of time together, especially at meals, so it’s a great time to gather people, have them all sit down and be very present in the moment. We like to play card games during meals—Italian card games that the resident directors have been teaching us. We have a game called Briscola that we really enjoy, and we’ve also been learning a game called Scopa.
Tramel: On weekends, it’s really fun to go out into the local area and explore either restaurants, cafes, or new places with one another. We’re near an area called Trastevere, and they have a lot of brass stalls and piazzas. It’s really fun to go down the hill, and walk around and explore the area with one another.
Akins: And it’s also a great experience to try to travel with other people, even outside of Rome. I know Joss and I have gone several places together. Just saying, “Oh, let’s go out on a day trip somewhere outside of Rome,” or “We’re pretty close to the beach,” [opens up] a really great way to bond with people.
Is there anything you are going to miss when you leave Italy?
Tramel: Aperitivo is something that I’m going to miss. It’s the idea of getting snacks before dinner. They’re very big on being present here during mealtimes. The event is the meal, and so coming from the States, that’s not really something we’re used to.
Akins: I’m going miss some of the regional foods that we have here. On Friday nights or weekends when we’re really tired and we just need to pick up some quick food and get back to the dorm, we like to go to a pizzeria spot that’s around the corner called Tulio’s, and we will grab Roman-style pizza. It’s a long sheet of pizza, and you tell them how much you want, and you pay by weight, which is a very convenient way to get cheap food. And then also we get suppli, which are fried rice balls with cheese and sauce inside. They’re only available in Rome.
What is one of the greatest challenges you had going from studying in the States to studying abroad?
Akins: [There’s] a difference in Italian attitude that you do notice. The professors are definitely a little more fluid with their teaching. They’re more willing to roll with the punches, do things that aren’t in the syllabus, and sometimes it can freak you out for a second. You’ll [think], “Oh, we’re just doing something new,” but it’s also interesting because I’ve had the opportunity to experience things that aren’t in the syllabus.
What is it like connecting with students from other schools?
Tramel: I think it’s been really nice, especially as someone who doesn’t go to the host school, to connect with students from Santa Clara, or any other school that I’ve encountered, because there’s so many different experiences coming with that.
Akins: [From] Joss’s perspective, there are a lot of things that are different from Chicago, especially because she’s a California native. One of the things that we’ve talked about a lot is public transit. [Joss] didn’t know how to use it. So, I have been teaching her how to use public transit. She’s gotten so much better at using the buses, so much better at using the trains. But she’s taught me so many things. It’s been so nice to exchange that information. If we had both come from Chicago, those things would never have happened at all.
Finally, is there anything that has expanded or changed your worldview while going through this program?
Akins: I think something that’s really changed my perspective is venturing out of Rome and getting to meet people from all over Europe. Both of us, when we’ve traveled, have stayed in hostels a lot, which means that we’ve gotten to meet so many people. We’ve gotten to learn about the school system here in Europe, its differences, its similarities, and the struggles that they have, which are very different than the struggles in the U.S.
Tramel: living in such a residential neighborhood, you realize just how similar we all are. We all go to school, we all go to work, we all get up, we all share meals, and we all do so many things the same. I think, especially right now, that’s an important thing to remember: how connected we all are, regardless of how far apart we are.
