Shepherding students worldwide on experiential learning trips is, at this point, second-nature to the University Honors Program. Eight-day trips run through the Study Abroad Office with a three credit hour GEP criteria-bearing academic course attached, however, are not. 

The “Italy: Urban History, Tourism, and Sustainability” Study Abroad program is a passion project come to life for instructor Holly Hurlburt. Hurlburt holds a Ph.D. in European History from Syracuse University and is the author of two books and multiple articles on women, gender, politics and the state in late medieval/early modern Venice and the Mediterranean.

She has received grants and fellowships from the American Historical Association; The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation; Villa I Tatti, the Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies; The Renaissance Society of America and the Newberry Library. Hurlburt is a professor of history for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and serves as the Associate Dean and Executive Director of Academic Enrichment Programming for NC State’s University College, overseeing the University Honors Program, the Office of Undergraduate Research, and the University Fellowships Office.

When she was a graduate student at Syracuse University, Hurlburt worked in study abroad and saw what it meant, both to students and instructors, to physically be in the historical place that they were discussing. 

“Study abroad makes abstract ideas much more real and understandable,” explains Hurlburt. 

Thanks to her relationship with both the History Department and the University Honors Program, Hurlburt saw an opportunity to design and teach a very specific course that had been developing in her head for a long time. 

“Italy: Urban History, Tourism, and Sustainability” is an extremely rare eight-day, short-term Study Abroad program that was offered for the spring 2025 semester that combines a “Topics in Urban History” three credit hour history course with an international spring break trip to Venice, Italy. After a successful first run, the program will return for the spring 2026 semester.

Makenna Phelps is an International Studies student concentrating in Global Sustainability & Development. The International Studies degree program requires all of its students to participate in study abroad to graduate. While Phelps loves her major, she self-identifies as a “homebody” and must also dedicate much of her free time to work in order to pay for school and rent, so committing to studying abroad for the typical 4-6 weeks or longer was not something she would be well able to do. The short-term nature of a spring break Study Abroad program was perfect for Phelps. 

Prior to departing for their trip, Hurlburt and her students covered the history of “The Floating City” and its rise as a major maritime republic, a main nexus for religious pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land, an important hub for trading and entrepreneurial innovation, and a popular European travel destination. The class also discussed some of the more modern social and environmental challenges that develop when a city like Venice experiences overtourism, and how their class’s trip was planned in such a way as to be more sustainable than the average tourist’s. 

“It’s a strange and wonderful feeling to see that you are getting to do something you’ve been thinking about for thirty years,” shared Hurlburt.

Hurlburt’s love for Venice began in the late 90s, when she was living and studying abroad herself as a PhD student. 

“In the 1990s, virtually no digitization of historical collections had taken place yet, so at that point in academia you literally had to GO to the place you were studying to have access to historical documents,” Hurlburt said. “Of course there are benefits to studying abroad post-digitization – my Italian language skills and cultural competency all came from living and studying abroad.” 

The trip’s itinerary included such educational activities as a glass-blowing demonstration on the Venetian island of Murano and a behind-the-scenes Italian Renaissance art restoration tour with the non-profit Save Venice at the church of San Sebastiano.

The class visited the Lazzaretto Nuovo, the small Venetian island developed in 1468 as a mandatory stop for incoming ships and cargo, where crews and goods were quarantined for up to six weeks and searched for signs of plague before being allowed to move on to the main city center, which has since been reclaimed as an ecological preserve. 

The group also benefited from three separate walking tours with engaging and knowledgeable native Venetian, Luisella Romeo, owner of See Venice Guided Tours. Hurlburt became acquainted with Romeo thanks to the University Honors Program’s Summer Study Abroad Program based in Florence, Italy, which Hurlburt helps to coordinate on-site annually. 

“Since the class is about understanding Venice from multiple perspectives, Luisella, as a lifelong resident of the city, provided an essential perspective in a knowledgeable, approachable and fun way,” Hurlburt said. “Her connections opened amazing doors to experiences and people, like Lino Tagliapietra (see related article), for our students.” 

“To be honest, before this class my knowledge of Venice was very limited,” admitted Zahra Walker, a University Honors student enrolled in the International Business Dual Degree Program. “I knew it was famous, but I had no idea about how the city was built on wood, that Napoleon lived in the city and displaced many works of art, or that there was a MOSE system to combat flooding. Taking a deeper look into the history of Venice made it feel less like an idealistic place and more like a living, breathing city with layers of struggle and innovation. I think if more tourists researched the history of Venice before visiting, they would be more appreciative of the workers and citizens who make Venice the city that it is.”

Walker was so inspired by the trip and Hurlburt’s teachings that she enrolled in a European Law history course for the following semester and added a history minor. 

Nery Gonzalez-Garcia, a Microbiology and Bioprocessing Science double major, reflected, “This course and travels allowed me to gain an interdisciplinary perspective into a looming issue and determine the various disciplines that can help solve that issue… Learning about the city in the classroom is one thing, but seeing the city I am learning about and experiencing it is different… I feel like I was able to achieve all the goals I set for myself and grew a lot from this experience.” 

Hurlburt’s hopes for this pilot trip were met beyond all expectations as well. 

“I feel like I’ve shared something very important to me with a handful of students who now ‘get it,’” Hurlburt proudly shared. “I had such a great time thinking about the trip and the course with you, Meghan [Teten]. We saw a lot of opportunities and I think we are both excited for how to do this again in the future.

“For the rest of their lives these students are going to remember the things they learned from the experts we met with and the places we visited. I hope they left Venice feeling like they actually “know” Venice now.” 

Hurlburt wants students that take her class to gain experience with real-word problem solving in action. When the group returned from their spring break trip, the remainder of the semester was spent focusing on some of the more contemporary issues the city is facing besides overtourism, like climate change, sea level rise, and recurring flooding.

Guest speakers included Katherine Anarde, assistant professor for the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering and Erin Seekamp, executive director of the new Climate and Sustainability Academy. Anarde is a coastal engineer and geomorphologist that combines observational and numerical approaches to investigate coastal hazards like flooding, and Seekamp is a social scientist with expertise in collaborations and partnerships for conservation, community engagement, and capacity building for climate resilience. 

“Now I understand that it’s not easy to change Venice quickly due to the many parties involved. I’ve come to realize the gridlock that seems to control Venice, a difficult balance between locals, business owners, and outsiders who want to claim the city as their own,” shared Mark Petrilli, an Aerospace Engineering student minoring in History. “Before going on the trip I thought native Venetians were few and far between and that their situation was hopeless… Throughout this course I have become more sympathetic to the people of modern day Venice, as I wouldn’t want to live with the hordes of tourists and the fear of flooding. The future of Venice is much more alarming. What form will it take? Will it exist at all?”

“I was excited to see, after they learned more from our guest speakers, how the students think we might begin to solve some of Venice’s problems,” said Hurlburt. “In their reflections from the trip a lot of the students came away with the idea that mindfulness might be the solution to both the tourism problem and the climate change problem. The fact that they arrived at that conclusion because they personally visited our location of study is one of my favorite things.”

Luna Shaffer decided to participate in the program during her final semester, a reward to herself as a graduating senior to take a class and a trip focused on something she is passionate about (sustainability). 

“One of the biggest surprises from this course was how much my own thinking about sustainability evolved. I came in expecting to learn new facts or see interesting systems in action, but I didn’t anticipate such a shift in my mindset. In the past, I often focused on what the “ideal” sustainability solution looked like: technically efficient, perfectly designed, and logically implemented. However, throughout this experience, especially in Venice, I began to understand the importance of embracing imperfection and designing with people at the center… This shift feels especially meaningful as I prepare for my career, reminding me to prioritize not just technical excellence but also the lived realities of the people that systems are meant to serve.” 

Shaffer graduated in May 2025 with her degree in Sustainable Materials and Technology. She now works in research and development for TE Connectivity, helping to develop solutions that improve product performance and sustainability.

As associate dean for the Division of Academic and Student Affairs and director of Academic Enrichment Programming, it is one aspect of Hurlburt’s job to think about how to involve more students in highly impactful experiential learning opportunities like study abroad. 

“I hope we can encourage students who think they can’t study abroad to study abroad. There are shorter-term trips if you can’t give a full 4-6 weeks to a summer program or a whole semester or year to a study abroad program. There are also lots of ways to fund these opportunities that I think many students just don’t know about.” 

Applications for the spring 2026 offering of this Study Abroad program close on Oct. 15, 2025.