We shared in what was most important

With a background in outdoor labor, sustainable agriculture, and foreign language literature and pedagogy--Spannocchia seemed built for me. And I knew this going into the program. But what surprised me, was that my fellow interns were not cookie-cutter Annas. We came from all over the globe, with different religion, political, and educational upbringings, and had very distinct interests and thus varied reasons for being at Spannocchia for those blissful three fall months in 2017. Some were there to escape, others to explore; a few to labor, a few to luxuriate; some of my new friends used this internship to change their course, others to move forward in a current one. But it worked. Why? We shared in something that was most important: we wanted to learn, we wanted to experience, we wanted to know the what, the why, and the how.

I've revisited, simultaneously rekindling old friendships and discovering that the internship has evolved. But such always happens; even 1000 year Spannocchia must adapt, grow, and progress. This said, the Internship continues to be a top notch program, with top notch participants, and top notch programmers. I was blessed to take part.

Spannocchia inspires. Spannocchia teaches. Spannocchia creates. I highly recommend this experience.